SmartEnzymes™ in Multiplexed Middle-Down MS for targeted structure analysis
In a recent article by Srzentic et al. (2018) the authors present a multiplexed middle-down MS workflow with improved performance for targeted protein structure analysis. Using GingisKHAN for antibody digestion, the authors analysed the F(ab) subunits of a therapeutic mAb. By implementing spectral and transient averaging of mass spectra across several LC-MS experiments, the authors revealed valuable information on chain pairing in the mAb.
To make the analysis, the therapeutic mAb trastuzumab was digested above the hinge using the GingisKHAN enzyme to generate intact F(ab) subunits. Intact myoglobin was subjected to analysis in a top-down MS approach to benchmark the workflow. The GingisKHAN-generated F(ab) subunits were then analysed using the middle-down MS workflow to compare the performance of data averaging approaches.
The results show the performances of spectral and transient averaging for tandem mass spectra as separate software tools for structural protein analysis. The transient averaging provided the most extensive sequence coverage for the F(ab) subunits, followed by spectral averaging. Furthermore, utilizing the multiplexed middle-down MS workflow for subunit analysis, the authors detected low-abundance branched product ions revealing valuable information about the light and heavy chain connectivity.
GingisKHAN® (Kgp enzyme) is a cysteine protease that digests human IgG1 at a specific site above the hinge region. The enzyme generates intact Fc and Fab subunits in 60 minutes.