Protein radical labeling, like fast photochemical oxidation of proteins (FPOP), coupled to a top-down mass spectrometry (MS) analysis offers an alternative analytical method for probing protein structure or protein interaction with other biomolecules, for instance, proteins and DNA. However, with the increasing mass of studied analytes, the MS/MS spectra become complex and exhibit a low signal-to-noise ratio. Nevertheless, these difficulties may be overcome by protein isotope depletion. Thus, we aimed to use protein isotope depletion to analyze FPOP-oxidized samples by top-down MS analysis. For this purpose, we prepared isotopically natural (IN) and depleted (ID) forms of the FOXO4 DNA binding domain (FOXO4-DBD) and studied the protein-DNA interaction interface with double-stranded DNA, the insulin response element (IRE), after exposing the complex to hydroxyl radicals. As shown by comparing tandem mass spectra of natural and depleted proteins, the ID form increased the signal-to-noise ratio of useful fragment ions, thereby enhancing the sequence coverage by more than 19%. This improvement in the detection of fragment ions enabled us to detect 22 more oxidized residues in the ID samples than in the IN sample. Moreover, less common modifications were detected in the ID sample, including the formation of ketones and lysine carbonylation. Given the higher quality of ID top-down MSMS data set, these results provide more detailed information on the complex formation between transcription factors and DNA-response elements. Therefore, our study highlights the benefits of isotopic depletion for quantitative top-down proteomics. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with the identifier PXD044447.

• MeSH
• DNA MeSH
• Ions MeSH
• Isotopes MeSH
• Proteins * analysis   MeSH
• Tandem Mass Spectrometry * MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• DNA MeSH
• Ions MeSH
• Isotopes MeSH
• Proteins * MeSH

Hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) is a well-established analytical technique that enables monitoring of protein dynamics and interactions by probing the isotope exchange of backbone amides. It has virtually no limitations in terms of protein size, flexibility, or reaction conditions and can thus be performed in solution at different pH values and temperatures under controlled redox conditions. Thanks to its coupling with mass spectrometry (MS), it is also straightforward to perform and has relatively high throughput, making it an excellent complement to the high-resolution methods of structural biology. Given the recent expansion of artificial intelligence-aided protein structure modeling, there is considerable demand for techniques allowing fast and unambiguous validation of in silico predictions; HDX-MS is well-placed to meet this demand. Here we present a protocol for HDX-MS and illustrate its use in characterizing the dynamics and structural changes of a dimeric heme-containing oxygen sensor protein as it responds to changes in its coordination and redox state. This allowed us to propose a mechanism by which the signal (oxygen binding to the heme iron in the sensing domain) is transduced to the protein's functional domain.

• Keywords
• Globin-coupled histidine kinase, Heme-containing oxygen sensors, Hydrogen/deuterium exchange, Ligand binding, Mass spectrometry, Protein conformational dynamics, Signal transduction,
• MeSH
• Deuterium MeSH
• Heme chemistry   MeSH
• Hemeproteins * MeSH
• Mass Spectrometry methods   MeSH
• Oxygen metabolism   MeSH
• Artificial Intelligence MeSH
• Deuterium Exchange Measurement methods   MeSH
• Hydrogen chemistry   MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Deuterium MeSH
• Heme MeSH
• Hemeproteins * MeSH
• Oxygen MeSH
• Hydrogen MeSH