Heterotrifunctional chemical cross-linking mass spectrometry confirms physical interaction between human frataxin and ISU.

The progressive neurodegenerative disease Friedreich's ataxia is caused by a decreased level of expression of frataxin, a putative iron chaperone. Frataxin is thought to transiently interact with ISU, the scaffold protein onto which iron-sulfur clusters are assembled, to deliver ferrous iron. Photoreactive heterotrifunctional chemical cross-linking confirmed the interaction between frataxin and ISU in the presence of iron and validated that transient interactions can be covalently trapped with this method. Because frataxin may participate in transient interactions with other mitochondrial proteins, this cross-linking approach may reveal new protein partners and pathways in which it interacts and help deduce direct, downstream consequences of its deficiency.

Effects of transition metal ion coordination on the collision-induced dissociation of polyalanines.

Transition metal-polyalanine complexes were analyzed in a high-capacity quadrupole ion trap after electrospray ionization. Polyalanines have no polar amino acid side chains to coordinate metal ions, thus allowing the effects metal ion interaction with the peptide backbone to be explored. Positive mode mass spectra produced from peptides mixed with salts of the first row transition metals Cr(III), Fe(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(I), and Cu(II) yield singly and doubly charged metallated ions. These precursor ions undergo collision-induced dissociation (CID) to give almost exclusively metallated N-terminal product ions whose types and relative abundances depend on the identity of the transition metal. For example, Cr(III)-cationized peptides yield CID spectra that are complex and have several neutral losses, whereas Fe(III)-cationized peptides dissociate to give intense non-metallated products. The addition of Cu(II) shows the most promise for sequencing. Spectra obtained from the CID of singly and doubly charged Cu-heptaalanine ions, [M + Cu - H](+) and [M + Cu](2+) , are complimentary and together provide cleavage at every residue and no neutral losses. (This contrasts with [M + H](+) of heptaalanine, where CID does not provide backbone ions to sequence the first three residues.) Transition metal cationization produces abundant metallated a-ions by CID, unlike protonated peptides that produce primarily b- and y-ions. The prominence of metallated a-ions is interesting because they do not always form from b-ions. Tandem mass spectrometry on metallated (Met = metal) a- and b-ions indicate that [b(n) + Met - H](2+) lose CO to form [a(n) + Met - H](2+), mimicking protonated structures. In contrast, [a(n) + Met - H](2+) eliminate an amino acid residue to form [a(n-1) + Met - H](2+), which may be useful in sequencing.

Characterization of the organic component of low-molecular-weight chromium-binding substance and its binding of chromium.

Chromium was proposed to be an essential element over 50 y ago and was shown to have therapeutic potential in treating the symptoms of type 2 diabetes; however, its mechanism of action at a molecular level is unknown. One chromium-binding biomolecule, low-molecular weight chromium-binding substance (LMWCr or chromodulin), has been found to be biologically active in in vitro assays and proposed as a potential candidate for the in vivo biologically active form of chromium. Characterization of the organic component of LMWCr has proven difficult. Treating bovine LMWCr with trifluoroacetic acid followed by purification on a graphite powder micro-column generates a heptapeptide fragment of LMWCr. The peptide sequence of the fragment was analyzed by MS and tandem MS (MS/MS and MS/MS/MS) using collision-induced dissociation and post-source decay. Two candidate sequences, pEEEEGDD and pEEEGEDD (where pE is pyroglutamate), were identified from the MS/MS experiments; additional tandem MS suggests the sequence is pEEEEGDD. The N-terminal glutamate residues explain the inability to sequence LMWCr by the Edman method. Langmuir isotherms and Hill plots were used to analyze the binding constants of chromic ions to synthetic peptides similar in composition to apoLMWCr. The sequence pEEEEGDD was found to bind 4 chromic ions per peptide with nearly identical cooperativity and binding constants to those of apoLMWCr. This work should lead to further studies elucidating or eliminating a potential role for LMWCr in treating the symptoms of type 2 diabetes and other conditions resulting from improper carbohydrate and lipid metabolism.