Unveiling the Diversity and Modifications of Short Peptides in Buthus martensii Scorpion Venom through Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry.

More recently, short peptides in scorpion venom have received much attention because of their potential for drug discovery. Although various biological effects of these short peptides have been found, their studies have been hindered by the lack of structural information especially in modifications. In this study, small peptides from scorpion venom were investigated using high-performance liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry followed by de novo sequencing. A total of 156 sequences consisting of 2~12 amino acids were temporarily identified from Buthus martensii scorpion venom. The identified peptides exhibited various post-translational modifications including N-terminal and C-terminal modifications, in which the N-benzoyl modification was first found in scorpion venom. Moreover, a short peptide Bz-ARF-NH2 demonstrated both N-terminal and C-terminal modifications simultaneously, which is extremely rare in natural peptides. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive insight into the diversity, modifications, and potential bioactivities of short peptides in scorpion venom.

Rapid screening and identification of compounds with DNA-binding activity from Folium Citri Reticulatae using on-line HPLC-DAD-MS(n) coupled with a post column fluorescence detection system.

To study the interactions between natural compounds and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), a method has been established combining a high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-multi-stage mass spectrometer with a fluorescence detector (HPLC-DAD-MS(n)-FLD). The FLD was used to monitor fluorescence intensity of the ethidium bromide-DNA (EB-DNA) complex when a compound separated by HPLC was introduced. This novel method was used to simultaneously obtain the HPLC fingerprint, UV spectra, MS(n) fragments and DNA-binding activity profile of various components in Folium Citri Reticulatae. As a result, 35 compounds were identified, of which 25 were found in the extract of Folium Citri Reticulatae for the first time, and 33 compounds showed DNA-binding activities, with the most active being feruloylhexaric and p-coumaroylhexaric acids. In addition, the precision, stability and reproducibility of this method were validated by two positive controls, quercetin and hesperidin. This new on-line method is accurate, precise and reliable for further high-throughput screening of DNA-binding compounds from food samples and other complex matrices.

An analysis method for simultaneous screening of deoxyribonucleic acid-binding active compounds and investigating their mechanisms by ultra-fast liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry coupled with fluorescence detection technology.

DNA has been known as the cellular target for many cytotoxic anticancer agents over the years. Discovering DNA-binding compounds has become an active research area, while various DNA-binding mechanisms make the drug discovery even more difficult. In this article, we present a novel analysis method to rapidly identify specific DNA-binding compounds from Pyrrosia lingua (Thunb.) using DNA-dual-fluorescent probes, ethidium bromide and Hoechst 33258, with the technology of ultra-fast liquid chromatography-diode array detector-tandem mass spectrometry and dual-wavelength fluorescence detector (UFLC-DAD-MS(n)-DFLD). Sixty-two compounds were identified, of which 22 were found to be active in DNA-binding. After investigation of their dose-response behaviors and structure-activity relationships, chlorogenic acids and flavonoid glycosides were found to be DNA-binders via both minor groove-binding and intercalation modes. The precision, reproducibility and stability of this method were validated by vitexin. The established system was sensitive, precise, and reliable to be used for both screening of DNA-binding compounds and investigating of their mechanisms.