A Sulfated, Phosphorylated 7 kDa Secreted Peptide Characterized by Direct Analysis of Cell Culture Media

An unusual sulfotyrosine-, phosphoserine-containing motif was mapped on a differentially post-translationally modified 60 residue antimicrobial neuroendocrine peptide called chrombacin. The study was performed by high resolution FT MS using complementary fragmentation techniques. The peptide was analyzed at low levels directly from cell culture media in contrast to previous reports that required extensive purification and proteolytic digestion. The sulfation site was not previously described nor predicted by informatic analysis of the peptide’s precursor sequence.