Selected Reaction Monitoring Mass Spectrometry for Absolute Protein Quantification

Summary

This protocol describes how to perform absolute quantification assays of target proteins within complex biological samples using selected reaction monitoring. It was used to accurately quantify proteins of the mouse macrophage chemotaxis signaling pathway. Target peptide selection, assay development, and qualitative and quantitative assays are described in detail.

Abstract

Absolute quantification of target proteins within complex biological samples is critical to a wide range of research and clinical applications. This protocol provides step-by-step instructions for the development and application of quantitative assays using selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mass spectrometry (MS). First, likely quantotypic target peptides are identified based on numerous criteria. This includes identifying proteotypic peptides, avoiding sites of posttranslational modification, and analyzing the uniqueness of the target peptide to the target protein. Next, crude external peptide standards are synthesized and used to develop SRM assays, and the resulting assays are used to perform qualitative analyses of the biological samples. Finally, purified, quantified, heavy isotope labeled internal peptide standards are prepared and used to perform isotope dilution series SRM assays. Analysis of all of the resulting MS data is presented. This protocol was used to accurately assay the absolute abundance of proteins of the chemotaxis signaling pathway within RAW 264.7 cells (a mouse monocyte/macrophage cell line). The quantification of G_i2 (a heterotrimeric G-protein α-subunit) is described in detail.

Introduction

Proteomic experiments that use mass spectrometry (MS) can be designed to use either non-targeted (shotgun) or targeted methods. Discovery proteomics generally relies on bottom-up shotgun MS, either by using a traditional data-dependent acquisition mode, or by using one of the recently developed data-independent techniques (e.g., MS^E, SWATH)^1,2. Shotgun proteomics is a powerful tool for high-throughput peptide identification and relative quantification, but it is generally unsuitable for absolute quantification or for targeting small, defined sets (~tens) of proteins. The MS method most often used for targeted proteomics is selected react....

Protocol

NOTE: This method has been previously described⁵⁶.

1. Peptide Target Selection

1. Compile a list of the target proteins, and include a small number of housekeeping proteins for normalization across biological samples, and also include an internal protein standard (e.g., firefly luciferase). Digest the target proteins into tryptic peptides in silico using a software tool such as Protein Digestion Simulator^29,30.
2. Require that the peptides are fully tryptic and contain no missing trypsin cleavage sites. Avoid peptides with neighboring trypsin cleavage sites to avoid potentially incompl....

Results

The development of predictive computational models of signal transduction pathways is one of the fundamental goals of systems biology⁵³. Unfortunately, even for signaling pathways that have been studied extensively and have a high clinical significance, it is still not generally possible to quantitatively predict pathway behavior in response to perturbations (e.g., this is true for the MAPK/ERK pathway⁵⁴). Recently, an investigation employed targeted proteomics, transcriptomics, and computa.......

Discussion

Absolute protein quantification is essential for a very diverse range of biomedical applications such as biomarker validation and signal transduction pathway modeling. Recently, targeted proteomics using LC-SRM has benefited from improvements to numerous technologies including peptide standard preparation, HPLC, QqQ-MS, and LC-SRM data analysis. Consequently, it has become a powerful alternative to immunoassays. Immunoassays can be extremely sensitive and high-throughput, but developing a robust immunoassay can be extrem.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Acetonitrile (ACN), LC-MS grade	Fisher	A955-1
BCA (bicinchoninic acid) protein assay kit	Fisher	23235
Beads for bead beating, zirconia-silica, 0.1 mm	BioSpec Products	11079101z
Bestatin hydrochloride	Sigma	B8385-10MG
Cell culture DMEM (with glucose, without L-glutamine)	Lonza	12-614F
Cell culture EDTA, 500 mM, pH8	Gibco	15575
Cell culture fetal bovine serum (FBS)	Atlanta Biologicals	S11550
Cell culture L-glutamine	Sigma	G8540-25G
Cell culture phosphate buffered saline (PBS) pH 7.4	Gibco	10010-049
Cell culture Trypan Blue viability stain, 0.4% w/v	Lonza	17-942E
Cellometer Auto T4 cell counter	Nexcelom Bioscience	Cellometer Auto T4
Cellometer Auto T4 disposable counting chambers	Nexcelom Bioscience	CHT4-SD100-014
Dithiothreitol (DTT)	Sigma	D5545-5G
Formic acid, LC-MS grade, ampules	Fisher	A117-10X1AMP
Hemocytometer, Neubauer-improved, 0.1 mm deep	Marienfeld-Superior	0640030
HEPES, 1 M, pH 7.2	Mediatech	25-060-CI
Hydrochloric acid, 37% w/w	VWR	BDH3028-2.5LG
Iodoacetamide	Sigma	I1149-5G
Laser Based Micropipette Puller	Sutter Instrument Co.	P-2000
LC coated silica capillary, 50 µm id	Polymicro Technologies	1068150017
LC vial, autosampler, 12 mm x 32 mm polypropylene	SUN SRI	200-268
LC vial screw cap, autosampler, pre-slit PTFE/silicone	SUN SRI	500-061
Luciferase, from Photinus pyralis	Sigma	L9506-1MG
Pepstatin A	EMD Millipore	516481-25MG
pH strips colorpHast (pH 0.0-6.0)	EMD Chemicals	9586-1
PhosStop phosphatase inhibitor cocktail	Roche	04906837001
RapiGest SF	Waters	186001861
Sep-Pak SPE, C18 1 ml 100 mg cartridge	Waters	WAT023590
Sep-Pak SPE, extraction manifold, 20 position	Waters	WAT200609
Sep-Pak SPE, flat-surfaced rubber bulb	Fisher	03-448-25
Sodium hydroxide (NaOH)	Fisher	S318-500
SpeedVac vacuum concentrator	Fisher	SPD111V
Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), LC-MS grade	Fisher	A116-50
Trypsin, sequencing grade, modified	Promega	V5113
Tube decapper for Micronic tubes	USA Scientific	1765-4000
Tubes, 2 ml microcentrifuge, o-ring screw-cap, sterile	Sarstedt	72.694.006
Urea	Sigma	U0631-500g
Water, LC-MS grade	Fisher	W6-1