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A standardized procedure for label-free nano-LC-SRM analysis of 32 high-medium abundance proteins from nondepleted human plasma was established and SRM data were acquired on 45 separate days for a control sample that was independently prepared on 39 distinct dates over an 18-month period (542 days). This case study enabled us to assess quantitative variance associated with nano-LC-SRM plasma analysis, mimicking experimental conditions that would be experienced with clinical trial biomarker studies. We assessed sample preparation variability attributed to different technicians and sample storage stability. Instrument performance varied over the 18-month period requiring ion path cleaning, so we assessed the impact of declining performance on specific peptide ion sensitivity and evaluated how various data normalization strategies could compensate for these changes. Our analysis demonstrated that while sample preparation was the main contributor for data variances when MS data were acquired within days, variability in SRM sensitivity was a far greater source of variance when data were acquired over a long period. The overall median multiplexed assay CV was 13% over the 18-month period. This case study is illustrative of large-scale plasma biomarker studies using nano-LC-SRM over extended periods and highlights aspects of bioanalysis that require careful attention to ensure reliable quantitation.

We have developed a streamlined proteomic sample preparation protocol termed Accelerated Barocycler Lysis and Extraction (ABLE) that substantially reduces the time and cost of tissue sample processing. ABLE is based on pressure cycling technology (PCT) for rapid tissue solubilization and reliable, controlled proteolytic digestion. Here, a previously reported PCT based protocol was optimized using 1-4 mg biopsy punches from rat kidney. The tissue denaturant urea was substituted with a combination of sodium deoxycholate (SDC) and N-propanol. ABLE produced comparable numbers of protein identifications in half the sample preparation time, being ready for MS injection in 3 h compared with 6 h for the conventional urea based method. To validate ABLE, it was applied to a diverse range of rat tissues (kidney, lung, muscle, brain, testis), human HEK 293 cell lines, and human ovarian cancer samples, followed by SWATH-mass spectrometry (SWATH-MS). There were similar numbers of quantified proteins between ABLE-SWATH and the conventional method, with greater than 70% overlap for all sample types, except muscle (58%). The ABLE protocol offers a standardized, high-throughput, efficient, and reproducible proteomic preparation method that when coupled with SWATH-MS has the potential to accelerate proteomics analysis to achieve a clinically relevant turn-around time.

Low molecular weight peptides derived from the breakdown of crystallins have been reported in adult human lenses. The proliferation of these LMW peptides coincides with the earliest stages of cataract formation, suggesting that the protein cleavages involved may contribute to the aggregation and insolubilization of crystallins. This study reports the identification of 238 endogenous LMW crystallin peptides from the cortical extracts of four human lenses representing young, middle and old-age human lenses. Analysis of the peptide terminal amino acids showed that Lys and Arg were situated at the C-terminus with significantly higher frequency compared to other residues, suggesting that trypsin-like proteolysis may be active in the lens cortical fiber cells. Selected reaction monitoring analysis of an endogenous αA-crystallin peptide (αA(57-65)) showed that the concentration of this peptide in the human lens increased gradually to middle age, after which the rate of αA(57-65) formation escalated significantly. Using 2D gel electrophoresis/nanoLC-ESI-MS/MS, 12 protein complexes of 40-150 kDa consisting of multiple crystallin components were characterized from the water soluble cortical extracts of an adult human lens. The detection of these protein complexes suggested the possibility of crystallin cross-linking, with these complexes potentially acting to stabilize degraded crystallins by sequestration into water soluble complexes.

We performed proteomics analysis on four skin and one muscle tissue samples taken from three ancient Egyptian mummies of the first intermediate period, approximately 4200 years old. The mummies were first dated by radiocarbon dating of the accompany-\break ing textiles, and morphologically examined by scanning electron microscopy of additional skin samples. Proteins were extracted, separated on SDS–PAGE (sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis) gels, and in-gel digested with trypsin. The resulting peptides were analysed using nanoflow high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. We identified a total of 230 unique proteins from the five samples, which consisted of 132 unique protein identifications. We found a large number of collagens, which was confirmed by our microscopy data, and is in agreement with previous studies showing that collagens are very long-lived. As expected, we also found a large number of keratins. We identified numerous proteins that provide evidence of activation of the innate immunity system in two of the mummies, one of which also contained proteins indicating severe tissue inflammation, possibly indicative of an infection that we can speculate may have been related to the cause of death. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Quantitative mass spectrometry’.