Probing Advantages of Different Selectivity Strategies for Targeted Quantitative Proteomics

INTRODUCTION: There has been an exponential increase in the number of ‘potential’ protein biomarkers discovered; thus requiring the need for better quantification strategies to confirm or refute their ultimate utility. Also required is increased throughput which means reduced sample preparation and/or accelerated chromatography which increases the chance of interferences that could confound robust quantification. The purpose of this study is to explore a range of new MS analysis methodologies that enable higher selectivity quantification. The different techniques rely on different properties of the molecule for specificity so their utility will depend to a large degree on the target molecules. But an exploration to determine some general guidelines will be helpful when choosing the best strategy. In this study, we compare the quantification of tryptic peptides in complex biological matrices using various strategies including combinations of sample preparation and mass spectrometric methodologies on different mass spectrometric platforms. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS: The intact or digested BNP was spiked into the crashed plasma to create calibration curves. An AB SCIEX QTRAP® 5500 system equipped with Turbo V™ source was used. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) transitions and MRM3 experiments for intact and digested BNP were developed and used to measure the calibration curves. For the differential mobility separations, a QTRAP 5500 system equipped with SelexION™ Technology was used. RESULTS: Three quantitative methodologies were used with the QTRAP® 5500 System: MRM provides selectivity based on the fragmentation of the peptide and monitoring of a specific product ion. When matrix interference is a problem with MRM, further selectivity can be performed using MRM3, which provides a second level of selectivity based on monitoring a secondary product ion. Alternatively, the differential mobility separation (DMS) system which provides selectivity based on the mobility of the various chemicals in the sample can also be used. Intact BNP provided good fragmentation for MS/MS and MS3, thus best sensitivity was obtained using MRM3 or MRM. However, for large peptides which do not fragment well, SIM (single ion monitoring) using DMS may be an alternative methodology for quantification.