Proteome characterization of ocular microvascular beds is pivotal for in-depth understanding of many ocular pathologies in humans. This study demonstrates an effective, rapid, and robust method for protein extraction and sample preparation from small blood vessels employing the porcine short posterior ciliary arteries as model vessels for mass-spectrometry-based proteomics analyses.
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Method Article
Sample Preparation for Mass-spectrometry-based Proteomics Analysis of Ocular Microvessels
* These authors contributed equally
In This Article
Summary
Abstract
The use of isolated ocular blood vessels in vitro to decipher the pathophysiological state of the eye using advanced technological approaches has greatly expanded our understanding of certain diseases. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics has emerged as a powerful tool to unravel alterations in the molecular mechanisms and protein signaling pathways in the vascular beds in health and disease. However, sample preparation steps prior to MS analyses are crucial to obtain reproducible results and in-depth elucidation of the complex proteome. This is particularly important for preparation of ocular microvessels, where the amount of sample available for analyses is often limited and thus, poses a challenge for optimum protein extraction. This article endeavors to provide an efficient, rapid and robust protocol for sample preparation from an exemplary retrobulbar ocular vascular bed employing the porcine short posterior ciliary arteries. The present method focuses on protein extraction procedures from both the supernatant and pellet of the sample following homogenization, sample cleaning with centrifugal filter devices prior to one-dimensional gel electrophoresis and peptide purification steps for label-free quantification in a liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-linear ion trap-Orbitrap MS system. Although this method has been developed specifically for proteomics analyses of ocular microvessels, we have also provided convincing evidence that it can also be readily employed for other tissue-based samples.
Introduction
The advancement in the field of proteomics, which permits integrated and unsurpassed data collection power, has greatly revolutionized our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying certain disease conditions as well as in reflecting the physiological state of a specific cell population or tissue1,2,3,4. Proteomics has also proved to be an important platform in ophthalmic research owing to the sensitivity and unbiased analysis of different ocular samples that facilitated identification of potential disease markers for eventual diag....
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Protocol
All experimental procedures using animal samples were performed in strict adherence to the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Statement for the Use of Animals in Ophthalmic and Vision Research and by institutional guidelines. This study was conducted and approved at the Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Centre Mainz.
NOTE: Porcine eyes together with optic nerve and extraocular tissues were obtained fresh from the local abattoir immediately post-mortem. Enucleated eyes were transported to the laboratory in ice-cold phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and used immediately. The schematic over....
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Results
Limited sample availability is one of the major drawbacks in ophthalmic research. Correspondingly, extraction methods for optimum protein yield from small amounts of samples such as ocular blood vessels are often debatable. To date, there is a paucity of methods catered particularly for protein extraction from retrobulbar blood vessels. Therefore, as a first step in method optimization and as a proof-of-principle to compare the efficacy and robustness of several commonly employed protein .......
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Discussion
Comprehensive proteome profiling of a diverse range of ocular samples is an important and indispensable first step to elucidate the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways implicated in health and disease. In order to obtain high quality data and to ensure the reproducibility of results obtained from these analyses, the preceding sample preparation steps are crucial, as highlighted in a review by Mandal et al. that discussed in-depth the sample processing procedures for different parts of the eye employing two-dimens.......
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Disclosures
The authors have nothing to disclose.
Acknowledgements
Dr. Manicam is supported by the Internal University Research Funding (Stufe 1) from the University Medical Centre of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (MA 8006/1-1).
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Materials
| Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Chemicals | |||
| 1, 4-Dithiothreitol (DTT) | Sigma-Aldrich | 1.11474 | |
| Calcium chloride dihydrate (CaCl2) | Carl Roth | 5239.1 | 2.5 mM |
| Dulbecco's phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 14190169 | |
| Formic acid (CH2O2) | AppliChem | A0748 | |
| HPLC-grade acetonitrile (ACN, C2H3N) | AppliChem | A1605 | |
| HPLC-grade methanol (CH3OH) | Fisher Scientific | M/4056/17 | |
| HPLC-grade water | AppliChem | A1589 | |
| Iodoacetamide (IAA) | Sigma-Aldrich | I6125 | |
| Kalium chloride (KCl) | Carl Roth | 6781.1 | 4.7 mM |
| Kalium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4) | Carl Roth | 3904.2 | 1.2 mM |
| LC-MS-grade acetic acid | Carl Roth | AE69.1 | |
| Magnesium sulphate (MgSO4) | Carl Roth | 261.2 | 1.2 mM |
| NuPAGE Antioxidant | Thermo Fisher Scientific (Invitrogen) | NP0005 | |
| NuPAGE LDS Sample buffer | Thermo Fisher Scientific (Invitrogen) | NP0007 | 4x |
| NuPAGE MES SDS Running Buffer | Thermo Fisher Scientific (Invitrogen) | NP0002 | 20x |
| NuPAGE Sample reducing agent | Thermo Fisher Scientific (Invitrogen) | NP0004 | 10x |
| SeeBlue Plus2 pre-stained protein standard | Thermo Fisher Scientific (Invitrogen) | LC5925 | |
| Sequencing grade modified trypsin | Promega | V5111 | |
| Sodium chloride (NaCl) | Carl Roth | 9265.2 | 118.3 mM |
| Sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO3) | Carl Roth | 965.3 | 25 mM |
| Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA, C2HF3O2) | Merck Millipore | 108178 | |
| α-(D)-(+)- Glucose monohydrate | Carl Roth | 6780.1 | 11 mM |
| B. Reagents and Kits | |||
| 0.5 mm zirconium oxide beads | Next Advance | ZROB05 | |
| 1.0 mm zirconium oxide beads | Next Advance | ZROB10 | |
| Colloidal Blue Staining Kit | Thermo Fisher Scientific (Invitrogen) | LC6025 | To stain 25 mini gels per kit |
| NuPAGE 4-12 % Bis-Tri gels | Thermo Fisher Scientific (Invitrogen) | NP0321BOX | 1.0 mm, 10-well |
| Pierce Bicinchoninic Acid (BCA) Protein Assay Kit | Thermo Fisher Scientific | 23227 | |
| ProteoExtract Transmembrane Protein Extraction Kit, TM-PEK | Merck Millipore | 71772-3 | 20 reactions per kit |
| Tissue Protein Extraction Reagent (T-PER) | Thermo Scientific | 78510 | |
| C. Tools | |||
| 96-well V-bottom plates | Greiner Bio-One | 651180 | |
| Corning 96-well flat-bottom plates | Sigma-Aldrich | CLS3595-50EA | |
| Disposable microtome blades | pfm Medical | 207500014 | |
| Disposable scalpels #21 | pfm Medical | 200130021 | |
| Dissection pins | Carl Roth | PK47.1 | |
| Extra Fine Bonn Scissors | Fine Science Tools | 14084-08 | |
| Falcon conical centrifuge tubes (50 mL) | Fisher Scientific | 14-432-22 | |
| Mayo scissors, Tough cut | Fine Science Tools | 14130-17 | |
| Precision tweezers | Fine Science Tools | 11251-10 | Type 5 |
| Precision tweezers, straight with extra fine tips | Carl Roth | LH53.1 | Type 5 |
| Self-adhesive sealing films for microplates | Ratiolab (vWR) | RATI6018412 | |
| Standard pattern forceps | Fine Science Tools | 11000-12 | |
| Student Vannas spring scissors | Fine Science Tools | 91501-09 | |
| Vannas capsulotomy scissors | Geuder | 19760 | Straight, 77 mm |
| ZipTipC18 pipette tips | Merck Millipore | ZTC18S096 | |
| D. Equipment and devices | |||
| 150 × 0.5 mm BioBasic C18 column | Thermo Scientific, Rockford, USA | 72105-150565 | |
| 30 × 0.5 mm BioBasic C18 pre-column | Thermo Scientific, Rockford, USA | 72105-030515 | |
| Amicon Ultra-0.5 3K Centrifugal Filter Devices | Merck Millipore | UFC500396 | Pack of 96. |
| Analytical balance | Sartorius | H51 | |
| Autosampler | CTC Analytics AG, Zwingen, Switzerland | HTS Pal | |
| BBY24M Bullet Blender Storm | Next Advance | NA-BB-25 | |
| Eppendorf concentrator, model 5301 | Sigma-Aldrich | Z368172 | |
| Eppendorf microcentrifuge, model 5424 | Fisher Scientific | 05-403-93 | Non-refrigerated |
| Heraeus Primo R Centrifuge | Thermo Scientific | 75005440 | Refrigerated |
| Labsonic M Ultrasonic homogenizer | Sartorius | BBI-8535027 | |
| LC-MS pump, model Rheos Allegro | Thermo Scientific, Rockford, USA | 22080 | |
| LTQ Orbitrap XL mass spectrometer | Thermo Scientific, Bremen, Germany | ||
| Multiskan Ascent plate reader | Thermo Labsystems | v2.6 | |
| Rotator with vortex | neoLab | 7-0045 | |
| Titanium probe (Ø 0.5 mm, 80 mm long) | Sartorius | BBI-8535612 | |
| Ultrasonic bath, type RK 31 | Bandelin | 329 | |
| Xcell Surelock Mini Cell | Life Technologies | El0001 |
References
- Mandal, N., Heegaard, S., Prause, J. U., Honoré, B., Vorum, H. Ocular proteomics with emphasis on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Biological Procedures Online. 12, 56-88 (2010).
- Gregorich, Z. R., Ge, Y. Top-down....
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