Application and Refinement of a Zero-Length Chemical Cross-Linking and Mass Spectrometry Method to Examine Native Protein Structures

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Degree type
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Graduate group
Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics
Discipline
Subject
Chemical cross-linking
Mass spectrometry
Native structure
Structural biology
Biochemistry
Biophysics
Funder
Grant number
License
Copyright date
2016-11-29T00:00:00-08:00
Distributor
Related resources
Contributor
Abstract

Chemical cross-linking and mass spectrometry (CX-MS) is a structural technique that has been gaining in popularity with the advent of instruments that provide increased access to high-resolution MS/MS data. The Speicher laboratory is interested in zero-length cross-links, which provide the highest-quality data, but are the most difficult to identify and analyze. A MS sample preparation and data analysis pipeline, including a software package called ZXMiner, has been developed to collect and analyze zero-length CX-MS data to use in molecular modeling experiments. I used this pipeline to examine the peroxiredoxin-6 (PRDX6) enzyme, which prevents oxidative damage in the lung. I found the identified cross-links did not fit the published crystal structure of a catalytic intermediate, which suggests PRDX6 undergoes conformational changes as part of catalysis. A solution structure of PRDX6 was created using this CX-MS data. Next, I performed optimization experiments in order to adapt the ZXMiner data analysis pipeline from the LTQ Orbitrap XL instrument it was created for to a more state-of-the-art Q Exactive Plus instrument in order to expand its ability to probe complex samples. Combined with a new version of ZXMiner, I was able to determine several parameters that improved the quality of cross-link data for erythrocyte membrane white ghost (WG) samples. I combined the cross-links identified in those samples with immunoprecipitation experiments and review of the pertinent literature to determine a topology model for the anion exchanger 1 (AE1) protein, which plays critical roles in CO2 transport and the erythrocyte membrane skeleton. Using this topology model and published crystal structures for the N-terminal domain of AE1, I was able to perform combinatorial modeling experiments which resulted in a model of the full-length protein that resolved several controversies in the field. These results show that zero-length CX-MS is a powerful technique to determine structural information of proteins difficult to interrogate through conventional means.

Advisor
David W. Speicher
Date of degree
2015-01-01
Date Range for Data Collection (Start Date)
Date Range for Data Collection (End Date)
Digital Object Identifier
Series name and number
Volume number
Issue number
Publisher
Publisher DOI
Journal Issue
Comments
Recommended citation