Selective Enrichment of Sialylglycopeptides Enabled by Click Chemistry and Dynamic Covalent Exchange

Analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry: An update for 2021-2022

The use of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry for the analysis of carbohydrates and glycoconjugates is a well-established technique and this review is the 12th update of the original article published in 1999 and brings coverage of the literature to the end of 2022. As with previous review, this review also includes a few papers that describe methods appropriate to analysis by MALDI, such as sample preparation, even though the ionization method is not MALDI. The review follows the same format as previous reviews. It is divided into three sections: (1) general aspects such as theory of the MALDI process, matrices, derivatization, MALDI imaging, fragmentation, quantification and the use of computer software for structural identification. (2) Applications to various structural types such as oligo- and polysaccharides, glycoproteins, glycolipids, glycosides and biopharmaceuticals, and (3) other general areas such as medicine, industrial processes, natural products and glycan synthesis where MALDI is extensively used. Much of the material relating to applications is presented in tabular form. MALDI is still an ideal technique for carbohydrate analysis, particularly in its ability to produce single ions from each analyte and advancements in the technique and range of applications show little sign of diminishing.

An efficient strategy with a synergistic effect of hydrophilic and electrostatic interactions for simultaneous enrichment of N- and O-glycopeptides

N- and O-glycosylation modifications of proteins are closely linked to the onset and development of many diseases and have gained widespread attention as potential targets for therapy and diagnosis. However, the low abundance and low ionization efficiency of glycopeptides as well as the high heterogeneity make glycosylation analysis challenging. Here, an enrichment strategy, using Knoevenagel copolymers modified with polydopamine-adenosine (denoted as PDA-ADE@KCP), was firstly proposed for simultaneous enrichment of N- and O-glycopeptides through the synergistic effects of hydrophilic and electrostatic interactions. The adjustable charged surface and hydrophilic properties endow the material with the capability to achieve effective enrichment of intact N- and O-glycopeptides. The experimental results exhibited excellent selectivity (1 : 5000) and sensitivity (0.1 fmol μL-1) of the prepared material for N-glycopeptides from standard protein digest samples. Moreover, it was further applied to simultaneous capturing of N- and O-glycopeptides from mouse liver protein digests. Compared to the commercially available zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (ZIC-HILIC) material, the number of glycoproteins corresponding to all N- and O-glycopeptides enriched with PDA-ADE@KCP was much more than that with ZIC-HILIC. Furthermore, PDA-ADE@KCP captured more O-glycopeptides than ZIC-HILIC, revealing its superior performance in O-glycopeptide enrichment. All these results indicated that the strategy holds immense potential in characterizing N- and O-intact glycopeptides in the field of proteomics.

6-Plex mdSUGAR Isobaric-Labeling Guide Fingerprint Embedding for Glycomics Analysis

Glycans are vital biomolecules with diverse functions in biological processes. Mass spectrometry (MS) has become the most widely employed technology for glycomics studies. However, in the traditional data-dependent acquisition mode, only a subset of the abundant ions during MS1 scans are isolated and fragmented in subsequent MS2 events, which reduces reproducibility and prevents the measurement of low-abundance glycan species. Here, we reported a new method termed 6-plex mdSUGAR isobaric-labeling guide fingerprint embedding (MAGNI), to achieve multiplexed, quantitative, and targeted glycan analysis. The glycan peak signature was embedded by a triplicate-labeling strategy with a 6-plex mdSUGAR tag, and using ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometers, the low-abundance glycans that carry the mass fingerprints can be recognized on the MS1 spectra through an in-house developed software tool, MAGNIFinder. These embedded unique fingerprints can guide the selection and fragmentation of targeted precursor ions and further provide rich information on glycan structures. Quantitative analysis of two standard glycoproteins demonstrated the accuracy and precision of MAGNI. Using this approach, we identified 304 N-glycans in two ovarian cancer cell lines. Among them, 65 unique N-glycans were found differentially expressed, which indicates a distinct glycosylation pattern for each cell line. Remarkably, 31 N-glycans can be quantified in only 1 × 103 cells, demonstrating the high sensitivity of our method. Taken together, our MAGNI method offers a useful tool for low-abundance N-glycan characterization and is capable of determining small quantitative differences in N-glycan profiling. Therefore, it will be beneficial to the field of glycobiology and will expand our understanding of glycosylation.

Bioorthogonal Chemical Labeling Probes Targeting Sialic Acid Isomers for N-Glycan MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry of Tissues, Cells, and Biofluids

Sialic acid isomers attached in either α2,3 or α2,6 linkage to glycan termini confer distinct chemical, biological, and pathological properties, but they cannot be distinguished by mass differences in traditional mass spectrometry experiments. Multiple derivatization strategies have been developed to stabilize and facilitate the analysis of sialic acid isomers and their glycoconjugate carriers by high-performance liquid chromatography, capillary electrophoresis, and mass spectrometry workflows. Herein, a set of novel derivatization schemes are described that result in the introduction of bioorthogonal click chemistry alkyne or azide groups into α2,3- and α2,8-linked sialic acids. These chemical modifications were validated and structurally characterized using model isomeric sialic acid conjugates and model protein carriers. Use of an alkyne-amine, propargylamine, as the second amidation reagent effectively introduces an alkyne functional group into α2,3-linked sialic acid glycoproteins. In tissues, serum, and cultured cells, this allows for the detection and visualization of N-linked glycan sialic acid isomers by imaging mass spectrometry approaches. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded prostate cancer tissues and pancreatic cancer cell lines were used to characterize the numbers and distribution of alkyne-modified α2,3-linked sialic acid N-glycans. An azide-amine compound with a poly(ethylene glycol) linker was evaluated for use in histochemical staining. Formalin-fixed pancreatic cancer tissues were amidated with the azide amine, reacted with biotin-alkyne and copper catalyst, and sialic acid isomers detected by streptavidin-peroxidase staining. The direct chemical introduction of bioorthogonal click chemistry reagents into sialic acid-containing glycans and glycoproteins provides a new glycomic tool set to expand approaches for their detection, labeling, visualization, and enrichment.

Recent trends in glycoproteomics by characterization of intact glycopeptides

This trends article provides an overview of the state of the art in the analysis of intact glycopeptides by proteomics technologies based on LC-MS analysis. A brief description of the main techniques used at the different steps of the analytical workflow is provided, giving special attention to the most recent developments. The topics discussed include the need for dedicated sample preparation for intact glycopeptide purification from complex biological matrices. This section covers the common approaches with a special description of new materials and innovative reversible chemical derivatization strategies, specifically devised for intact glycopeptide analysis or dual enrichment of glycosylation and other post-translational modifications. The approaches are described for the characterization of intact glycopeptide structures by LC-MS and data analysis by bioinformatics for spectra annotation. The last section covers the open challenges in the field of intact glycopeptide analysis. These challenges include the need of a detailed description of the glycopeptide isomerism, the issues with quantitative analysis, and the lack of analytical methods for the large-scale characterization of glycosylation types that remain poorly characterized, such as C-mannosylation and tyrosine O-glycosylation. This bird's-eye view article provides both a state of the art in the field of intact glycopeptide analysis and open challenges to prompt future research on the topic.

High-Throughput Quantitative Glycomics Enabled by 12-plex Isobaric Multiplex Labeling Reagents for Carbonyl-Containing Compound (SUGAR) Tags

Glycans, which are widely distributed on most proteins and cell surfaces, are a class of important biomolecules playing crucial roles in various biological processes such as immune response and cellular communication. Modern mass spectrometry (MS) coupled with novel chemical probes greatly facilitates routine analysis of glycans. However, the requirement of high-throughput analysis still calls for advanced tools to be developed. Recently, we devised isobaric multiplex reagents for carbonyl-containing compound (SUGAR) tags for 4-plex N-glycan analysis. To further improve the throughput, we utilized the subtle mass differences among different isotopologues and expanded the multiplexing capacity to 12 channels, a 3-fold throughput improvement for the original SUGAR tag design and achieved high-throughput N-glycan analysis in a single LC-MS/MS injection. We then applied 12-plex SUGAR tags to profile the N-glycans in four subtypes of human Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and to investigate the N-glycan changes in the endometrial cancer cells (ECC1) treated with Atovaquone, a quinone antimicrobial medication, and a dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) inhibitor. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with the identifier PXD038501.

Higher Temperature Porous Graphitic Carbon Separations Differentially Impact Distinct Glycopeptide Classes

Mass spectrometry-based discovery glycoproteomics is highly dependent on the use of chromatography paradigms amenable to analyte retention and separation. When compared against established stationary phases such as reversed-phase and hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography, reports utilizing porous graphitic carbon have detailed its numerous advantages. Recent efforts have highlighted the utility in porous graphitic carbon in high-throughput glycoproteomics, principally through enhanced profiling depth and liquid-phase resolution at higher column temperatures. However, increasing column temperature has been shown to impart disparaging effects in glycopeptide identification. Herein we further elucidate this trend, describing qualitative and semiquantitative effects of increased column temperature on glycopeptide identification rates, signal intensity, resolution, and spectral count linear response. Through analysis of enriched bovine and human glycopeptides, species with high mannose and sialylated glycans were shown to most significantly benefit and suffer from high column temperatures, respectively. These results provide insight as to how porous graphitic carbon separations may be appropriately leveraged for glycopeptide identification while raising concerns over quantitative and semiquantitative label-free comparisons as the temperature changes. RAW MS glycoproteomic data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD034354.