Sequencing of phosphopeptides sulfonated by 4-sulfophenyl isothiocyanate using post-source decay matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Phosphorylation/dephosphorylation is probably the most common and important reversible post-translational modification of proteins. Analyzing the functional effects of phosphorylation is helpful for understanding the biological functions of proteins. Identification of the phosphorylation sites of phosphorylated protein is a prerequisite for research on phosphorylation. In this work, an effective and simple method of identification of protein phosphorylation sites has been developed. Phosphopeptides were selectively enriched with immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC) and subsequently chemically modified by 4-sulfophenyl isothiocyanate, and then the chemically modified phosphopeptides were sequenced with post-source decay (PSD) matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry for detecting phosphorylation sites. The charge of derivatization by 4-sulfophenyl isothiocyanate introduces a negative sulfonic acid group at the N-terminus of a peptide, and enables the selective detection of only a single series of C-terminal y-type ions. This chemically assisted method greatly simplifies the extremely complex pattern of PSD fragment ions and makes the PSD spectra more easier to be interpreted. The phosphorylation sites of a synthesized model phosphopeptide and human c-myc protein have been successfully identified by this method.