Phosphoproteomic Workflow Research Articles

Quantification of Pancreatic Cancer Proteome and Phosphorylome: Indicates Molecular Events Likely Contributing to Cancer and Activity of Drug Targets

ObjectiveLC-MS/MS phospho-proteomics is an essential technology to help unravel the complex molecular events that lead to and propagate cancer. We have developed a global phospho-proteomic workflow to determine activity of signaling pathways and drug targets in pancreatic cancer tissue for clinical application.MethodsPeptides resulting from tryptic digestion of proteins extracted from frozen tissue of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and background pancreas (n = 12), were labelled with tandem mass tags (TMT 8-plex), separated by strong cation exchange chromatography, then were analysed by LC-MS/MS directly or first enriched for phosphopeptides using IMAC and TiO2, prior to analysis. In-house, commercial and freeware bioinformatic platforms were used to identify relevant biological events from the complex dataset.ResultsOf 2,101 proteins identified, 152 demonstrated significant difference in abundance between tumor and non-tumor tissue. They included proteins that are known to be up-regulated in pancreatic cancer (e.g. Mucin-1), but the majority were new candidate markers such as HIPK1 & MLCK. Of the 6,543 unique phosphopeptides identified (6,284 unique phosphorylation sites), 635 showed significant regulation, particularly those from proteins involved in cell migration (Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factors & MRCKα) and formation of focal adhesions. Activator phosphorylation sites on FYN, AKT1, ERK2, HDAC1 and other drug targets were found to be highly modulated (≥2 fold) in different cases highlighting their predictive power.ConclusionHere we provided critical information enabling us to identify the common and unique molecular events likely contributing to cancer in each case. Such information may be used to help predict more bespoke therapy suitable for an individual case.

Global Screening of CK2 Kinase Substrates by an Integrated Phosphoproteomics Workflow

Due to its constitutive activity and ubiquitous distribution, CK2 is the most pleiotropic kinase among the individual members of the protein kinase superfamily. Identification of CK2 substrates is vital to decipher its role in biological processes. However, only a limited number of CK2 substrates were identified so far. In this study, we developed an integrated phosphoproteomics workflow to identify the CK2 substrates in large scale. First, in vitro kinase reactions with immobilized proteomes were combined with quantitative phosphoproteomics to identify in vitro CK2 phosphorylation sites, which leaded to identification of 988 sites from 581 protein substrates. To reduce false positives, we proposed an approach by comparing these in vitro sites with the public databases that collect in vivo phosphorylation sites. After the removal of the sites that were excluded in the databases, 605 high confident CK2 sites corresponding to 356 proteins were retained. The CK2 substrates identified in this study were based on the discovery mode, in which an unbiased overview of CK2 substrates was provided. Our result revealed that CK2 substrates were significantly enriched in the spliceosomal proteins, indicating CK2 might regulate the functions of spliceosome.

Quantitative phosphoproteomic profiling of human non-small cell lung cancer tumors

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Within the molecular scope of NCSLC, a complex landscape of dysregulated cellular signaling has emerged, defined largely by mutations in select mediators of signal transduction, including the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and anaplastic lymphoma (ALK) kinases. Consequently, these mutant kinases become constitutively activated and targets for chemotherapeutic intervention. Encouragingly, small molecule inhibitors of these pathways have shown promise in clinical trials or are approved for clinical use. However, many protein kinases are dysregulated in NSCLC without genetic mutations. To quantify differences in tumor cell signaling that are transparent to genomic methods, we established a super-SILAC internal standard derived from NSCLC cell lines grown in vitro and labeled with heavy lysine and arginine, and deployed them in a phosphoproteomic workflow. We identified 9019 and 8753 phosphorylation sites in two separate tumors. Relative quantification of phosphopeptide abundance between tumor samples allowed for the determination of specific hubs and pathways differing between each tumor. Sites downstream of Ras showed decreased inhibitory phosphorylation (Raf/Mek) and increased activating phosphorylation (Erk1/2) in one tumor versus another. In this way, we were able to quantitatively access oncogenic kinase signaling in primary human tumors. Through the use of quantitative proteomics, we demonstrated the feasibility and coverage that large scale mass spectrometry can leverage for understanding kinase networks in cancer. By incorporating Super-SILAC based quantitation into a typical pathology workflow, we were able to access and compare tumors from multiple patients in this analysis with high accuracy and dynamic range. We analyzed tumors from patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer and were able to detect comprehensive phosphorylation networks relaying through known hubs of oncogenesis in lung cancer. We hereby show that it is possible to track changes to phosphorylation networks across multiple tumors, opening up the possibility that drug susceptibility and patient-specific stratification can be implemented downstream of classical pathology.

Phosphoproteomic analysis reveals major default phosphorylation sites outside long intrinsically disordered regions of Arabidopsis plasma membrane proteins

BackgroundGenome-wide statistics established that long intrinsically disordered regions (over 30 residues) are predicted in a large part of proteins in all eukaryotes, with a higher ratio in trans-membrane proteins. At functional level, such unstructured and flexible regions were suggested for years to favour phosphorylation events. In plants, despite increasing evidence of the regulation of transport and signalling processes by phosphorylation events, only few data are available without specific information regarding plasma membrane proteins, especially at proteome scale.ResultsUsing a dedicated phosphoproteomic workflow, 75 novel and unambiguous phosphorylation sites were identified in Arabidopsis plasma membrane. Bioinformatics analysis showed that this new dataset concerned mostly integral proteins involved in key functions of the plasma membrane (such as transport and signal transduction, including protein phosphorylation). It thus expanded by 15% the directory of phosphosites previously characterized in signalling and transport proteins. Unexpectedly, 66% of phosphorylation sites were predicted to be located outside long intrinsically disordered regions. This result was further corroborated by analysis of publicly available data for the plasma membrane.ConclusionsThe new phosphoproteomics data presented here, with published datasets and functional annotation, suggest a previously unexpected topology of phosphorylation in the plant plasma membrane proteins. The significance of these new insights into the so far overlooked properties of the plant plasma membrane phosphoproteome and the long disordered regions is discussed.

IMAC/TiO(2) enrich for peptide modifications other than phosphorylation: implications for chromatographic choice and database searching in phosphoproteomics.

Protein regulation by reversible phosphorylation is fundamental in nature, and large-scale phosphoproteomic analyses are becoming routine in proteomics laboratories. These analyses utilise phosphopeptide separation and enrichment techniques linked to LC-MS/MS. Herein, we report that IMAC and TiO(2) also enrich for non-phosphorylated modified peptides such as acetylated, deamidated and carbamylated peptides. Urea and digestion conditions commonly used in phosphoproteomic workflows are the likely sources of the induced modifications (deamidation and carbamylation) and can easily modify phosphopeptides. Including these variable modifications in database searches increased the total number of identified phosphopeptides by 15%. We also show that strong cation exchange fractionation provides poor resolution of phosphopeptides and actually enriches these alternatively modified peptides. By switching to reverse-phase chromatography, we show a significant improvement in the number of identified phosphopeptides. We recommend that the users of phosphopeptide enrichment strategies avoid using urea as a denaturant and that careful consideration is given to chromatographic conditions and the types of variable modifications used in database searches. Thus, the capacity of IMAC and TiO(2) to enrich phosphopeptides bearing modifications other than phosphorylation is a previously unappreciated property of these chromatographies with practical implications for the field of phosphoproteomics.

Assaying pharmacodynamic endpoints with targeted therapy: Flavopiridol and 17AAG induced dephosphorylation of histone H1.5 in acute myeloid leukemia

Histone H1 is commonly used to assay kinase activity in vitro. As many promising targeted therapies affect kinase activity of specific enzymes involved in cancer transformation, H1 phosphorylation can serve as potential pharmacodynamic marker for drug activity within the cell. In this study we utilized a phosphoproteomic workflow to characterize histone H1 phosphorylation changes associated with two targeted therapies in the Kasumi-1 acute myeloid leukemia cell line. The phosphoproteomic workflow was first validated with standard casein phosphoproteins and then applied to the direct analysis of histone H1 from Kasumi-1 nuclear lysates. Ten H1 phosphorylation sites were identified on the H1 variants, H1.2, H1.3, H1.4, H1.5 and H1.x. LC MS profiling of intact H1s demonstrated global dephosphorylation of H1.5 associated with therapy by the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, flavopiridol and the Heat Shock Protein 90 inhibitor, 17-(Allylamino)-17-demethoxygeldanamycin. In contrast, independent treatments with a nucleotide analog, proteosome inhibitor and histone deacetylase inhibitor did not exhibit decreased H1.5 phosphorylation. The data presented herein demonstrate that potential of histones to assess the cellular response of reagents that have direct and indirect effects on kinase activity that alters histone phosphorylation. As such, this approach may be a highly informative marker for response to targeted therapies influencing histone phosphorylation.

An Integrated Phosphoproteomics Work Flow Reveals Extensive Network Regulation in Early Lysophosphatidic Acid Signaling

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) induces a variety of cellular signaling pathways through the activation of its cognate G protein-coupled receptors. To investigate early LPA responses and assess the contribution of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor transactivation in LPA signaling, we performed phosphoproteomics analyses of both total cell lysate and protein kinase-enriched fractions as complementary strategies to monitor phosphorylation changes in A498 kidney carcinoma cells. Our integrated work flow enabled the identification and quantification of more than 5,300 phosphorylation sites of which 224 were consistently regulated by LPA. In addition to induced phosphorylation events, we also obtained evidence for early dephosphorylation reactions due to rapid phosphatase regulation upon LPA treatment. Phosphorylation changes induced by direct heparin-binding EGF-like growth factor-mediated EGF receptor activation were typically weaker and only detected on a subset of LPA-regulated sites, indicating signal integration among EGF receptor transactivation and other LPA-triggered pathways. Our results reveal rapid phosphoregulation of many proteins not yet implicated in G protein-coupled receptor signaling and point to various additional mechanisms by which LPA might regulate cell survival and migration as well as gene transcription on the molecular level. Moreover, our phosphoproteomics analysis of both total lysate and kinase-enriched fractions provided highly complementary parts of the LPA-regulated signaling network and thus represents a useful and generic strategy toward comprehensive signaling studies on a system-wide level.

Quantitative phosphoproteomics – an emerging key technology in signal‐transduction research

Protein phosphorylation is the most important type of reversible post-translational modification involved in the regulation of cellular signal-transduction processes. In addition to controlling normal cellular physiology on the molecular level, perturbations of phosphorylation-based signaling networks and cascades have been implicated in the onset and progression of various human diseases. Recent advances in mass spectrometry-based proteomics helped to overcome many of the previous limitations in protein phosphorylation analysis. Improved isotope labeling and phosphopeptide enrichment strategies in conjunction with more powerful mass spectrometers and advances in data analysis have been integrated in highly efficient phosphoproteomics workflows, which are capable of monitoring up to several thousands of site-specific phosphorylation events within one large-scale analysis. Combined with ongoing efforts to define kinase-substrate relationships in intact cells, these major achievements have considerable potential to assess phosphorylation-based signaling networks on a system-wide scale. Here, we provide an overview of these exciting developments and their potential to transform signal-transduction research into a technology-driven, high-throughput science.

Neuroproteomics and the Detection of Regulatory Phosphosites

Protein phosphorylation is a key post-translational modification that controls intracellular signalling in virtually all cell types. In the nervous system, it contributes to the regulation of neuronal signalling and control processes underly- ing synaptic plasticity and cognitive functions. However, despite its importance, knowledge about phosphoproteins and their phosphosites in the brain remains limited. A pre-requisite for unravelling brain biology and function at the molecular level, are the qualitative and quantitative analyses of protein phosphorylation and its dynamics. These analyses of the phosphoproteome require novel methodologies in addition to traditional biochemical methods. Current phosphoproteomic workflows have reached a level of maturity, which allow for their use in combination with molecular approaches, and their application to the study of higher order brain function and cognitive processes. Neuroproteomics is emerging as an essential new sub-field of the neurosciences. This review focuses on the recent advances in the application of neuropro- teomics to the phosphoproteome and discusses the challenges to come.