Arginine Modification Research Articles

331 - Methylglyoxal-derived post-translational arginine modifications are abundant histone marks

Histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) regulate chromatin dynamics, DNA accessibility, and transcription to expand the genetic code. Many of these PTMs are produced through cellular metabolism to offer both feedback and feedforward regulation. Here, we describe the existence of Lys and Arg modifications on histones by the glycolytic by-product, methylglyoxal (MGO). Our data demonstrate that adduction of histones by MGO is an abundant modification, present at the same order of magnitude as Arg methylation. These modifications were detected on all four core histones at critical residues involved in both nucleosome stability and reader domain binding. In addition, MGO treatment of cells lacking the major detoxifying enzyme, glyoxalase 1, results in a marked disruption in H2B acetylation and ubiquitylation, without affecting H2A, H3, and H4 modifications. Using RNA-Seq, we show that MGO is capable of altering gene transcription, most notably in cells lacking GLO1. Lastly, we show that the deglycase, DJ-1, protects histones from adduction by MGO. Collectively, we demonstrate the existence of a previously undetected histone modification derived from glycolysis, which may have far reaching implications on the control of gene expression and protein transcription linked to metabolism.

Methylglyoxal-derived posttranslational arginine modifications are abundant histone marks

Histone posttranslational modifications (PTMs) regulate chromatin dynamics, DNA accessibility, and transcription to expand the genetic code. Many of these PTMs are produced through cellular metabolism to offer both feedback and feedforward regulation. Herein we describe the existence of Lys and Arg modifications on histones by a glycolytic by-product, methylglyoxal (MGO). Our data demonstrate that adduction of histones by MGO is an abundant modification, present at the same order of magnitude as Arg methylation. These modifications were detected on all four core histones at critical residues involved in both nucleosome stability and reader domain binding. In addition, MGO treatment of cells lacking the major detoxifying enzyme, glyoxalase 1, results in marked disruption of H2B acetylation and ubiquitylation without affecting H2A, H3, and H4 modifications. Using RNA sequencing, we show that MGO is capable of altering gene transcription, most notably in cells lacking GLO1. Finally, we show that the deglycase DJ-1 protects histones from adduction by MGO. Collectively, our findings demonstrate the existence of a previously undetected histone modification derived from glycolysis, which may have far-reaching implications for the control of gene expression and protein transcription linked to metabolism.

Mining the Human Tissue Proteome for Protein Citrullination

Citrullination is a posttranslational modification of arginine catalyzed by five peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs) in humans. The loss of a positive charge may cause structural or functional alterations, and while the modification has been linked to several diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and cancer, its physiological or pathophysiological roles remain largely unclear. In part, this is owing to limitations in available methodology to robustly enrich, detect, and localize the modification. As a result, only a few citrullination sites have been identified on human proteins with high confidence. In this study, we mined data from mass-spectrometry-based deep proteomic profiling of 30 human tissues to identify citrullination sites on endogenous proteins. Database searching of ∼70 million tandem mass spectra yielded ∼13,000 candidate spectra, which were further triaged by spectrum quality metrics and the detection of the specific neutral loss of isocyanic acid from citrullinated peptides to reduce false positives. Because citrullination is easily confused with deamidation, we synthetized ∼2,200 citrullinated and 1,300 deamidated peptides to build a library of reference spectra. This led to the validation of 375 citrullination sites on 209 human proteins. Further analysis showed that >80% of the identified modifications sites were new, and for 56% of the proteins, citrullination was detected for the first time. Sequence motif analysis revealed a strong preference for Asp and Gly, residues around the citrullination site. Interestingly, while the modification was detected in 26 human tissues with the highest levels found in the brain and lung, citrullination levels did not correlate well with protein expression of the PAD enzymes. Even though the current work represents the largest survey of protein citrullination to date, the modification was mostly detected on high abundant proteins, arguing that the development of specific enrichment methods would be required in order to study the full extent of cellular protein citrullination.

Arginine methylation is required for canonical Wnt signaling and endolysosomal trafficking

Arginine methylation has emerged as a widespread and reversible protein modification with the potential to regulate a multitude of cellular processes, but its function is poorly understood. Endolysosomes play an important role in Wnt signaling, in which glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) becomes sequestered inside multivesicular bodies (MVBs) by the process known as microautophagy, causing the stabilization of many proteins. Up to 20% of cellular proteins contain three or more consecutive putative GSK3 sites, and of these 33% also contain methylarginine (meArg) modifications. Intriguingly, a cytoskeletal protein was previously known to have meArg modifications that enhanced subsequent phosphorylations by GSK3. Here, we report the unexpected finding that protein arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) is required for canonical Wnt signaling. Treatment of cultured cells for 5-30 min with Wnt3a induced a large increase in total endocytic vesicles which were also positive for asymmetric dimethylarginine modifications. Protease protection studies, both biochemical and in situ in cultured cells, showed that many meArg-modified cytosolic proteins became rapidly translocated into MVBs together with GSK3 and Lys48-polyubiquitinated proteins by ESCRT-driven microautophagy. In the case of the transcription factor Smad4, we showed that a unique arginine methylation site was required for GSK3 phosphorylation and Wnt regulation. The enzyme PRMT1 was found to be essential for Wnt-stimulated arginine methylation, GSK3 sequestration, and canonical Wnt signaling. The results reveal a cell biological role for PRMT1 arginine methylation at the crossroads of growth factor signaling, protein phosphorylation, membrane trafficking, cytosolic proteolysis, and Wnt-regulated microautophagy.

Mapping the tandem mass spectrometric characteristics of citrulline-containing peptides.

Protein citrullination (deimination) is a post-translational modification of proteins converting arginine(s) into citrulline(s). "Overcitrullination" could be associated with severe pathological conditions. Mass spectrometric analysis of modified proteins is hindered by several problems. A comprehensive study of the fragmentation of deiminated peptides is not yet available. In this paper we have made an attempt to describe the characteristics of these processes, based on the studies of epitope model oligopeptides derived from clinically relevant proteins. Solutions of purified model peptides containing either one or two citrulline residues as well as their native variants were injected directly into the electrospray source of a high accuracy and resolution quadrupole-time-of-flight instrument and were analysed by tandem mass spectrometry using low-energy collision-induced dissociation. Loss of isocyanic acid from citrulline residues is a preferred fragmentation route for deiminated peptides, which yields ornithine residues in the sequence. However, simultaneous detection of both the isocyanic acid loss and sequence fragments is often compromised. A preferential cleavage site was observed between citrulline and any other following amino acids yielding intensive complementary b- and y-type ions. Also, citrulline positioned at the C-termini displays a preferential cleavage N-terminal to this residue yielding characteristic y1 ions. These phenomena are described here for the first time and are referred to as the "citrulline effect". We found that the citrulline effect is very pronounced and could be used as a complementary tool for the confirmation of modification sites in addition to losses of isocyanic acids from the protonated molecules or from fragment ions. Low collision energy applied to peptide ions having partially mobile protons reveals the site of modification by generating specific and intensive fragments of the sequence. On the other hand, fragmenting precursor ions with mobile protons usually allows full sequence coverage, although citrulline-specific fragments may exhibit lower intensities compared to other fragments.

Methylglyoxal modification hinders amyloid conversion of prion protein

Effect of glycation by methylglyoxal on prion protein (PrP) structure and properties was evaluated. Modification of arginine at 27-position into a hydroimidazolone derivative was confirmed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry; circular dichroism spectra and tryptophan fluorescence showed some structural changes, while the hydrodynamic diameter of PrP was not affected by glycation. Glycated PrP formed large amorphous aggregates instead of intermediate oligomers; seeding of glycated PrP by mature fibrils led to a decreased formation of amyloid structures.

Investigation of New Chemical Probes for Detection of Citrulline Using Small Molecule Model Systems

Citrulline is an amino acid formed via post‐translational modification of arginine. Citrullination of proteins underpins development of such health problems as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, other autoimmune diseases, and perhaps other diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Current probes based on phenylglyoxal exist but are lacking in stability, are difficult to synthesize, and are expensive to produce. A more viable probe that could properly detect concentrations of citrulline in the body could help with early diagnosis of patients affected by these diseases. The goal of this project is to create new, more stable probes for the detection of citrulline in the body. Currently, new reactive heads based on protected phenylglyoxal have been synthesized and their reactions with small molecules mimicking citrulline are being investigated.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Protective potential of thymoquinone against peroxynitrite induced modifications in histone H2A: In vitro studies

Peroxynitrite (ONOO−) is a reactive oxidant involved in numerous pathological conditions. Thymoquinone (TQ) is an active constituent of Nigella sativa and is reported to have anti-disease activities, but its role on ONOO− has never been investigated. This study was undertaken to investigate the role of TQ on ONOO−-induced damage of histone-H2A. Our novel data showed TQ significantly inhibited ONOO−-induced oxidative damage in histone-H2A. ONOO− induces UV-hypochromicity of histone-H2A, whereas TQ reversed this effect to hyperchromicity. Tyrosine fluorescence was significantly reduced by ONOO− and was significantly increased upon TQ treatment. TQ reduces ONOO−-induced hydrophobicity in histone-H2A and also reduces thermal stability of ONOO−-histone H2A complex. SDS-PAGE of native histone-H2A showed a single band, which disappeared when treated with ONOO− alone. This changed was retained when protein samples were treated with TQ. Similar protective effects of TQ were found when protein carbonyl contents were estimated. In conclusion, this is the first study that shows the potential of TQ against ONOO−-induced damaged of histone-H2A. TQ inhibits oxidative modification of tyrosine, lysine, arginine, proline and threonine in histone-H2A. These results have importance for the development of novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of disorders, where ONOO− plays a role.

Switching the Post-Translational Modification of Elongation Factor P

Tripeptides with two consecutive prolines are the shortest and most frequent sequences causing ribosome stalling. The bacterial translation elongation factor P (EF-P) relieves the arrest, allowing protein biosynthesis to continue. A seven amino acids long loop between beta-strands β3/β4 is crucial for EF-P function and is modified at its tip by lysylation of lysine or rhamnosylation of arginine. Phylogenetic analyses unveiled an invariant proline in the -2 position of the modification site in EF Ps that utilize lysine modifications such as Escherichia coli. Bacteria with arginine modifications such as Pseudomonas putida have selected against it. Focusing on the EF-Ps from these two model organisms we demonstrate the importance of the β3/β4 loop composition for functionalization with chemically distinct modifications. Ultimately we show that amino acid changes in E. coli EF P are needed for switching the activation strategy from lysylation to rhamnosylation.

PRMT1 promotes hyperglycemia in a FoxO1-dependent manner, affecting glucose metabolism, during hypobaric hypoxia exposure, in rat model.

High-altitude (HA) environment causes changes in cellular metabolism among unacclimatized humans. Previous studies have revealed that insulin-dependent activation of protein kinase B (Akt) regulates metabolic processes via discrete transcriptional effectors. Moreover, protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMT)1-dependent arginine modification of forkhead box other (FoxO)1 protein interferes with Akt-dependent phosphorylation. The present study was undertaken to test the involvement of PRMT1 on FoxO1 activation during hypobaric hypoxia (HH) exposure in rat model. Samples were obtained from normoxia control (NC) and HH-exposed (H) rats, subdivided according to the duration of HH exposure. To explore the specific role played by PRMT1 during HH exposure, samples from 1d pair-fed (PF) NC, 1d acute hypoxia-exposed (AH) placebo-treated, and 1d AH TC-E-5003-treated rats were investigated. Quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was performed to determine expressions of glycolytic, gluconeogenic enzymes, and insulin response regulating genes. Immuno-blot and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used for insulin response regulating proteins. Nuclear translocation of FoxO1 was analyzed using deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-binding ELISA kit. We observed HH-induced increase in glycolytic enzyme expressions in hepatic tissue unlike hypothalamic tissue. PRMT1 expression increased during HH exposure, causing insulin resistance and resulting increase in FoxO1 nuclear translocation, leading to hyperglycemia. Conversely, PRMT1 inhibitor treatment promoted inhibition of FoxO1 activity and increase in glucose uptake during HH exposure leading to reduction in blood-glucose and hepatic glycogen levels. PRMT1 might have a potential importance as a therapeutic target for the treatment of HH-induced maladies.

Citrullinated α-enolase is an effective target for anti-cancer immunity

ABSTRACT Targeting post-translationally modified epitopes may provide a new strategy for generating tumor specific immune responses. Citrullination is the post-translational modification of arginine to citrulline catalyzed by peptidylarginine deaminase (PAD) enzymes. Presentation of citrullinated peptides on MHC-II has been associated with autophagy. Tumors upregulate autophagy and present citrullinated peptides in response to stresses including nutrient deprivation, oxygen deprivation, redox stress and DNA damage, making them good targets for immune attack. The ubiquitous glycolytic enzyme α-enolase (ENO1) is often citrullinated and degraded during autophagy. Immunization of mice with two citrullinated ENO1 peptides (ENO1 241–260cit253 or 11–25cit15) induced strong Th1 responses that recognize the post-translationally modified, but not the wild type unmodified epitope. ENO1 11–25cit15 induced tumor therapy of melanoma cells in C57Bl/6 (B16F1 50% survival p = 0.0026) and ENO1 241–260cit253 in HLA-DR4 transgenic mice (B16-DR4 50% survival p = 0.0048). In addition, ENO1 241–260cit253 induced therapy of pancreatic (Pan02-DR4 50% survival p = 0.0076) and lung (LLC/2-DR4 40% survival p = 0.0142) tumors in HLA-DR4 transgenic mice. The unmodified epitope induced no anti-tumor response. Minimal regression of class II negative B16 or LLC/2 tumor was seen, confirming direct recognition of MHC-II was required. Most tumors only express MHC-II in the presence of IFNγ; an IFNγ inducible model showed strong responses, with rejection of tumors in up to 90% of animals (p = 0.0001). In humans, a repertoire to ENO1 241–260cit253 was observed in healthy donors. This response was CD4 mediated and seen in people with a variety of HLA types suggesting a broad application for this vaccine in human cancer therapy.

Enhanced antitumor efficacy of arginine modified amphiphilic nanoparticles co-delivering doxorubicin and iSur-pDNA via the multiple synergistic effect

Arginine and α-tocopherol succinate (α-TOS) double grafted N-trimethyl chitosan chloride (TMC) nanoparticles (TAS NPs) were designed and developed for effective co-delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) and Survivin shRNA-expressing pDNA (iSur-pDNA). With DOX loading into the hydrophobic core and iSur-pDNA combining to the hydrophilic shell, TAS/DOX/pDNA NPs demonstrated favorable structural stability and sustained release properties in vitro. With the special non-clathrin-dependent endocytosis, TAS/DOX/pDNA NPs presented higher cellular uptake and mainly distributed in ER and Golgi rather than lysosomes following internalization. The in vitro nuclear localization, gene silencing efficiency, cell apoptosis, and growth inhibition of tumor cells were significantly promoted by arginine modification. In the tumor-bearing mice model, TAS/DOX/pDNA NPs possessed the maximum antitumor efficiency as compared with single delivery of DOX or iSur-pDNA. Particularly, blank TAS NPs were selectively be toxic to tumor cells as evidenced by their capabilities to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis of tumor cells. The promising tumor treatment of TAS/DOX/pDNA NPs via a multiple synergistic manner arising from DOX and pDNA as well as the vectors would provide a potential strategy for a dual-delivery system to improve their therapeutic efficacies.

Transketolase A from E. coli Significantly Suppresses Protein Glycation by Glycolaldehyde and Glyoxal in Vitro.

Short-chained carbonyl species such as glycolaldehyde and its oxidized pendant glyoxal are highly reactive Maillard agents, leading to the formation of protein modifications. These advanced glycation endproducts have gained considerable interest as they have been linked to various pathologies in vivo. The ability of transketolase to use glycolaldehyde as a substrate suggested the possibility to modulate carbonyl-driven Maillard reactions. Model incubations with recombinant transketolase A from Escherichia coli in the presence of bovine serum albumin and glycolaldehyde indeed led to a decrease in glycolaldehyde concentrations paralleled by the enzymatic conversion to erythrulose. As a result, reversibly protein-bound glycolaldehyde and the major final endproduct N6-carboxymethyl lysine were significantly reduced by approximately 50%, respectively. Glycolaldehyde is easily oxidized to glyoxal in the presence of amines and oxygen. In the presence of transketolase, the lower amounts of glycolaldehyde therefore also strongly suppressed the formation of glyoxal specific arginine modifications, measured as 5-(2-imino-5-oxo-1-imidazolidinyl)norvaline after acid hydrolysis.

An in silico analysis of primary and secondary structure specificity determinants for human peptidylarginine deiminase types 2 and 4

Human peptidylarginine deiminases (hPADs) are a family of five calcium-dependent enzymes that facilitate citrullination, which is the post-translational modification of peptidyl arginine to peptidyl citrulline. The isozymes hPAD2 and hPAD4 have been implicated in the development and progression of several autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. To better characterize the primary and secondary structure determinants of citrullination specificity, we mined the literature for protein sequences susceptible to citrullination by hPAD2 or hPAD4. First, protein secondary structure classification (α-helix, β-sheet, or coil) was predicted using the PSIPRED software. Next, we used motif-x and pLogo to extract and visualize statistically significant motifs within each data set. Within the data sets of peptides predicted to lie in coil regions, both hPAD2 and hPAD4 appear to favor citrullination of glycine-containing motifs, while distinct hydrophobic motifs were identified for hPAD2 citrullination sites predicted to reside within α-helical and β-sheet regions. Additionally, we identified potential substrate overlap between coil region citrullination and arginine methylation. Together, these results confirm the importance and offer some insight into the role of secondary structure elements for citrullination specificity, and provide biological context for the existing hPAD specificity and arginine post-translational modification literature.

B Cell Tolerance to Deiminated Histones in BALB/c, C57BL/6, and Autoimmune-Prone Mouse Strains.

Deimination, a posttranslational modification of arginine to citrulline carried out by peptidylarginine deiminases, may compromise tolerance of self-antigens. Patients with connective tissue autoimmunity, particularly rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), or Felty’s syndrome, present with autoantibodies to deiminated histones (dH), which thus form a category of antibodies to citrullinated protein antigens (ACPA). In general, ACPA are a sensitive diagnostic for RA and may form in response to the release of nuclear chromatin (DNA plus dH) from granulocytes, usually referred to as neutrophil extracellular traps. The aim of this study was to examine spontaneously autoimmune mice for autoantibodies and T cell responses to dH. We compared IgG binding to deiminated and non-deiminated histones (nH) by ELISA and Western blotting in spontaneously autoimmune strains of (NZB × NZW) F1 and NZM2410 together with their derivative congenic strains, C57BL/6.Sle1 and C57BL/6.Sle1.Sle3, which display profound autoreactivity against nuclear self-antigens. The splenocyte proliferation against the two antigens was determined in the spontaneously autoimmune (NZB × NZW) F1 strain from which other autoimmune strains used in the study were derived. Immunizations with dH and nH were attempted in BALB/c mice to assess their splenocyte response. Splenocytes from BALB/c mice and from autoimmune mice at the time of conversion to autoimmunity proliferated strongly in response to dH, yet serum IgG from autoimmune (NZB × NZW) F1, NZM2410, and C57BL/6.Sle1.Sle3 mice displayed a remarkable bias against binding to dH. At the time of seroconversion, the antibodies already exhibited preference for nH, and only nH were recovered from circulating immune complexes. Analysis of histone deimination showed constitutive deimination in thymic extracts from C57BL/6 and C57BL/6.Sle1.Sle2.Sle3 triply congenic mice and in spleens of autoimmune triply congenic mice. Our study demonstrates that tolerance mechanisms against dH are intact in BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice and continue to be effective in mice with overt autoimmunity to nH. We conclude that, in contrast to human RA and SLE patients, where we frequently observe autoantibodies against dH, autoimmune mice maintain strong tolerance mechanisms to prevent the development of autoantibodies to dH.

Arginine modification of lycosin-I to improve inhibitory activity against cancer cells.

Lycosin-I is a linear amphipathic α-helical anticancer peptide (ACP) extracted from the spider Lycosa singoriensis, which can activate the mitochondrial death pathway to induce apoptosis in tumor cells and up-regulate p27 to inhibit cell proliferation. However, the applicability of lycosin-I as a novel anticancer drug is limited by its low cellular entry and efficacy in solid tumors. Amino acid substitution presents an effective and modest strategy to improve the anticancer activity and bioavailability of ACPs. Herein, an arginine-modified lycosin-I (named R-lycosin-I) was designed and synthesized by substituting lysine (Lys) with arginine (Arg). This peptide exhibited higher anticancer activity and penetrability against solid tumor cells than lycosin-I. They displayed noticeable differences in their physicochemical properties including the secondary structure, hydrodynamic size, and zeta potential. Fluorescence analyses have confirmed that R-lycosin-I exhibits increased cellular uptake and improved intracellular distribution. Due to its superior physical and chemical properties and high serum stability, R-lycosin-I could penetrate deeply into tumor spheroids and produce strong toxicity in the 3D tumor model. Overall, these findings suggest that arginine modification may provide an effective strategy for improving the anticancer activity of lycosin-I, and R-lycosin-I may be a useful lead for developing anticancer drugs.

PADI4 Epigenetically Suppresses p21 Transcription and Inhibits Cell Apoptosis in Fibroblast-like Synoviocytes from Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by synovial lining hyperplasia, which involves abnormal growth of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs). This study aimed to investigate the function and molecular mechanism of peptidylarginine deiminase type 4 (PADI4) in FLSs isolated from RA patients (RA-FLSs). FLSs were isolated from RA patients and transfected with small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) or PADI4 overexpression plasmid. FLSs were treated by Adriamycin (ADR) to induce apoptosis, and apoptotic cells were detected by flow cytometry. The expression of PADI4, p53 and p21 was detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis. The recruitment of PADI4 and histone H3 arginine modifications to p21 promoter was measured by chromatin immunoprecipitation. The results showed that knockdown of PADI4 promoted the apoptosis of RA-FLSs and the expression of p53 and p21. Ectopic expression of PADI4 inhibited ADR-induced apoptosis of RA-FLSs, and down-regulated the expression of p53 and p21. In RA-FLSs, global H3 citrullination (CitH3) and H3 arginine 17 methylation levels were dynamically changed by PADI4 and ADR treatment. PADI4 and H3 could bind p21 promoter region to regulate p21 expression. In conclusion, PADI4 contributes to the pathogenesis of RA by protecting FLSs from apoptosis. PADI4 suppresses p21 transcription through altering histone H3 arginine modifications on p21 promoter region. Our study provides new insight into the anti-apoptotic role of PADI4 in RA development.

Quantitative Analysis and Discovery of Lysine and Arginine Modifications.

Post-translational modifications (PTMs) affect protein function, localization, and stability, yet very little is known about the ratios of these modifications. Here, we describe a novel method to quantitate and assess the relative stoichiometry of Lys and Arg modifications (QuARKMod) in complex biological settings. We demonstrate the versatility of this platform in monitoring recombinant protein modification of peptide substrates, PTMs of individual histones, and the relative abundance of these PTMs as a function of subcellular location. Lastly, we describe a product ion scanning technique that offers the potential to discover unexpected and possibly novel Lys and Arg modifications. In summary, this approach yields accurate quantitation and discovery of protein PTMs in complex biological systems without the requirement of high mass accuracy instrumentation.

Abstract A027: HLA-DP restricted responses to citrullinated proteins are pre-existing in the memory pool and can be rapidly reactivated to provide good tumor therapy

Abstract Citrullination is the post-translational modification of arginine to citrulline. Citrullinated proteins are known to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases and are presented in complex with MHC class II. Citrullination is mediated by Peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs), which are a family of calcium dependent enzymes found in a variety of tissues. A recent elegant report by Ireland et al. demonstrates that the presentation of citrullinated T cell epitopes on APCs is dependent upon autophagy and PAD activity. Autophagy is also induced by stress in other cells to enable processing of endogenous antigens for presentation on MHC class II molecules. Stressful conditions in tumor microenvironment induce autophagy in cancer cells as a mechanism to promote their survival and we have shown that citrullinated epitopes presented on HLA-DR4 are excellent targets for anti-tumor immunity (Brentville et al). CD4 T cell responses to citrullinated proteins have also been characterized in association with the HLA-DRB1 shared epitope alleles in rheumatoid arthritis. However, if citrullination is a generic response to cellular stress it should not be HLA-restricted. In this report we show that there is a response to citrullinated vimentin and MOG peptides in C57Bl mice and that these peptides induce anti-tumor immune responses against established B16F1 or B16F1-MOG tumors respectively. We have shown that there is also a repertoire of T cells capable of responding to citrullinated peptides in a wide range of normal individuals that were HLA-DR4 negative. This suggested that the peptides were being presented on other HLA alleles. The only common HLA-allele amongst the responding patients was HLA-DP4 which is expressed by 70% of the Caucasian population. Indeed, motif analysis of the peptides revealed an HLA-DP super motif (Sidney et al.,) suggesting that these peptides could be presented on a range of HLA-DP molecules. To confirm this observation, we vaccinated HLA-DP4 mice with citrullinated vimentin and enolase peptides and showed a rapid CD4 T cell response suggesting that these mice had a pre-existing response. These responses could also target tumors and showed efficient tumor therapy in both an ovarian (ID8-DP4, 80% survival p>0.001) and an aggressive melanoma tumor model (B16-DP4, 70% survival p = 0.0058). These results demonstrate a vaccine incorporating citrullinated peptides may have a universal application in cancer therapy.

Evaluation of chemical labeling methods for identifying functional arginine residues of proteins by mass spectrometry

Arginine residues undergo several kinds of post-translational modifications (PTMs). These PTMs are associated with several inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. Mass spectrometric studies of arginine modified proteins and peptides are very important, not only to identify the reactive arginine residues but also to understand the tandem mass spectrometry behavior of these peptides for assigning the sequences unambiguously. Herein, we utilize tandem mass spectrometry to report the performance of two widely used arginine labeling reagents, 1,2-cyclohexanedione (CHD) and phenylglyoxal (PG) with several arginine containing peptides and proteins. Time course labeling studies were performed to demonstrate the selectivity of the reagents in proteins or protein digests. Structural studies on the proteins were also explored to better understand the reaction sites and position of arginine residues. We found CHD showed better labeling efficiencies compared to phenylglyoxal. Reactive arginine profiling on a purified albumin protein clearly pointed out the cellular glycation modification site for this protein with high confidence.We believe these detailed mass-spectrometric studies will provide significant input to profile reactive arginine residues in large-scale studies; therefore, targeted proteomics can be performed to the short listed reactive sites for cellular arginine modifications.