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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common socially significant neurodegenerative pathology, which currently affects more than 30 million elderly people worldwide. Since the number of patients grows every year and may exceed 115 million by 2050, and due to the lack of effective therapies, early prediction of AD remains a global challenge, solution of which can contribute to the timely appointment of a preventive therapy in order to avoid irreversible changes in the brain. To date, clinical assays for the markers of amyloidosis in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) have been developed, which, in conjunction with the brain MRI and PET studies, are used either to confirm the diagnosis based on obligate clinical criteria or to predict the risk of AD developing at the stage of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the problem of predicting AD at the asymptomatic stage remains unresolved. In this regard, the search for new protein markers and studies of proteomic changes in CSF and blood plasma are of particular interest and may consequentially identify particular pathways involved in the pathogenesis of AD. Studies of specific proteomic changes in blood plasma deserve special attention and are of increasing interest due to the much less invasive method of sample collection as compared to CSF, which is important when choosing the object for large-scale screening. This review briefly summarizes the current knowledge on proteomic markers of AD and considers the prospects of developing reliable methods for early identification of AD risk factors based on the proteomic profile.

Metastasis is a serious and often life-threatening condition, representing the leading cause of death among women with breast cancer (BC). Although the current clinical classification of BC is well-established, the addition of minimally invasive laboratory tests based on peripheral blood biomarkers that reflect pathological changes in the body is of utmost importance. In the current study, the serum proteome and lipidome profiles for 50 BC patients with (25) and without (25) metastasis were studied. Targeted proteomic analysis for concertation measurements of 125 proteins in the serum was performed via liquid chromatography–multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (LC–MRM MS) using the BAK 125 kit (MRM Proteomics Inc., Victoria, BC, Canada). Untargeted label-free lipidomic analysis was performed using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass-spectrometry (LC–MS/MS), in both positive and negative ion modes. Finally, 87 serum proteins and 295 lipids were quantified and showed a moderate correlation with tumor grade, histological and biological subtypes, and the number of lymph node metastases. Two highly accurate classifiers that enabled distinguishing between metastatic and non-metastatic BC were developed based on proteomic (accuracy 90%) and lipidomic (accuracy 80%) features. The best classifier (91% sensitivity, 89% specificity, AUC = 0.92) for BC metastasis diagnostics was based on logistic regression and the serum levels of 11 proteins: alpha-2-macroglobulin, coagulation factor XII, adiponectin, leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein, alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein, Ig mu chain C region, apolipoprotein C-IV, carbonic anhydrase 1, apolipoprotein A-II, apolipoprotein C-II and alpha-1-acid glycoprotein 1.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia among the elderly. Neuropathologically, AD is characterized by the deposition of a 39- to 42-amino acid long β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide in the form of senile plaques. Several post-translational modifications (PTMs) in the N-terminal domain have been shown to increase the aggregation and cytotoxicity of Aβ, and specific Aβ proteoforms (e.g., Aβ with isomerized D7 (isoD7-Aβ)) are abundant in the senile plaques of AD patients. Animal models are indispensable tools for the study of disease pathogenesis, as well as preclinical testing. In the presented work, the accumulation dynamics of Aβ proteoforms in the brain of one of the most widely used amyloid-based mouse models (the 5xFAD line) was monitored. Mass spectrometry (MS) approaches, based on ion mobility separation and the characteristic fragment ion formation, were applied. The results indicated a gradual increase in the Aβ fraction of isoD7-Aβ, starting from approximately 8% at 7 months to approximately 30% by 23 months of age. Other specific PTMs, in particular, pyroglutamylation, deamidation, and oxidation, as well as phosphorylation, were also monitored. The results for mice of different ages demonstrated that the accumulation of Aβ proteoforms correlate with the formation of Aβ deposits. Although the mouse model cannot be a complete analogue of the processes occurring in the human brain in AD, and several of the observed parameters differ significantly from human values supposedly due to the limited lifespan of the model animals, this dynamic study provides evidence on at least one of the possible mechanisms that can trigger amyloidosis in AD, i.e., the hypothesis on the relationship between the accumulation of isoD7-Aβ and the progression of AD-like pathology.

The damage to blood coagulation factor XIII (FXIII) at different stages of its enzymatic activation under the action of various physiological amounts of hypochlorite ion was studied. The results obtained by HPLC-MS/MS, SDS-PAGE, and colorimetry showed that, during the conversion of FXIII to FXIIIa, the vulnerability of FXIII to hypochlorite-induced oxidation increased. FXIII oxidized with 150 μM hypochlorite completely retained its enzymatic activity inherent to the intact protein, whereas FXIIIa treated with 50 μM hypochlorite showed sharply reduced enzymatic activity. It was shown that a number of methionine and cysteine residues on the catalytic subunit can perform antioxidant function; additionally, the regulatory subunits of FXIII-B contribute to the antioxidant protection of the catalytic center of the FXIII-A subunit, which, together with the tight packing of the tetrameric structure of the FXIII proenzyme, are the three factors that provide high protein resistance to the oxidizing agent.

This review covers the results of the application of mass spectrometric (MS) techniques to study the diversity of beta-amyloid (Aβ) peptides in human samples. Since Aβ is an important hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is a socially significant neurodegenerative disorder of the elderly worldwide, analysis of its endogenous variations is of particular importance for elucidating the pathogenesis of AD, predicting increased risks of the disease onset, and developing effective therapy. MS approaches have no alternative for the study of complex samples, including a wide variety of Aβ proteoforms, differing in length and modifications. Approaches based on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight and liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem MS are most common in Aβ studies. However, Aβ forms with isomerized and/or racemized Asp and Ser residues require the use of special methods for separation and extra sensitive and selective methods for detection. Overall, this review summarizes current knowledge of Aβ species found in human brain, cerebrospinal fluid, and blood plasma; focuses on application of different MS approaches for Aβ studies; and considers the potential of MS techniques for further studies of Aβ-peptides.

The detection of viral RNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is currently the main diagnostic tool for COVID-19 (Eurosurveillance2019, 25 ( (3), ), 1). The PCR-based test, however, shows limited sensitivity, especially in the early and late stages of disease development (Nature2020, 581, 465−46932235945; J. Formosan Med. Assoc.2020, 119 ( (6), ) 112332340768), and is relatively time-consuming. Fast and reliable complementary methods for detecting the viral infection would be of help in the current pandemic conditions. Mass spectrometry is one of such possibilities. We have developed a mass-spectrometry-based method for the detection of the SARS CoV-2 virus in nasopharynx epithelial swabs based on the detection of the viral nucleocapsid N protein. Our approach shows confident identification of the N protein in patient samples, even those with the lowest viral loads, and a much simpler preparation procedure. Our main protocol consists of virus inactivation by heating and the addition of isopropanol and tryptic digestion of the proteins sedimented from the swabs followed by MS analysis. A set of unique peptides, produced as a result of proteolysis of the nucleocapsid phosphoprotein of SARS-CoV-2, is detected. The obtained results can further be used to create fast parallel mass-spectrometric approaches for the detection of the virus in the nasopharyngeal mucosa, saliva, sputum and other physiological fluids.

The plasma coagulation factor XIII (рFXIII) is a key protein of the blood coagulation systems, the main function of which consists of the enzymatic covalent stabilization of the polymeric structure of fibrin. The protein has a heterotetrameric structure consisting of two catalytic (FXIII-A2) and two regulatory (FXIII-В2) subunits. Using a high resolution mass spectrometry, hypochlorite-induced oxidation of рFXIII molecules and its enzymatic form (FXIIIa) is studied for the first time. It is demonstrated that sulfur and aromatic amino acid residues are the most vulnerable residues to oxidative attack. The mass spectrometry data indicate that oxidized amino acid residues are found in all structural elements of the FXIII-A catalytic subunit in the protein we are studying (except for the activation peptide), while a number of domains remain in native form in the FXIII-В regulatory subunit. When treated FXIIIa with hypochlorite, additional modification sites both in the FXIII- $${\text{A}}_{{\text{2}}}^{*}$$ and in the FXIII-В2 subunits are detected. The data obtained allowed us to postulate that in the process of converting the proenzyme into FXIIIa, new amino acid residues (previously inaccessible to oxidizers) migrate to the surface of the protein globule and become vulnerable targets for oxidizer molecules, while some of the initially surface-exposed amino acid residues move inside the protein, losing their ability to participate in the oxidative modifications. Electrophoresis of reduced samples of covalently cross-linked fibrin detected a decrease in transglutaminase activity of oxidized FXIIIa manifested in the inhibition of the reaction of the formation of γ–γ-dimers. The ability of the рFXIII molecule to resist the oxidative attack due to its antioxidant structural adaptation to the effect of reactive oxygen species is discussed.

The effect of peroxide-induced oxidation of fibrinogen on modification of its primary structure and functional properties was investigated. The oxidation sites were shown to be Met, Trp, and His residues. Using the DLS method, it was found that the oxidative modification of fibrinogen results in the change of microrheological characteristics of fibrin network. The fibrinogen oxidation diminishes its tolerance to plasmin hydrolysis and deteriorates the factor XIIIa ability to stabilize the fibrin gel.

The iron-containing protein neuroglobin (Ngb) involved in the transport of oxygen is generally considered the precursor of all animal globins. In this report, we studied the structure of Ngb of the cold-water sponge Halisarca dujardinii. In sponges, the oldest multicellular organisms, the Ngb gene contains three introns. In contrast to human Ngb, its promoter contains a TATA-box, rather than CG-rich motifs. In sponges, Ngb consists of 169 amino acids showing rather low similarity with its mammalian orthologues. It lacks Glu and Arg residues in positions required for prevention of hypoxia-related apoptosis. Nevertheless, Ngb contains both proximal and distal conserved heme-biding histidines. The primary structure of H. dujardinii neuroglobin predicted by sequencing was confirmed by mass-spectrometry analysis of recombinant Ngb expressed in E. coli. The high level of Ngb expression in sponge tissues suggests its possible involvement in the gas metabolism and presumably in other key metabolic processes in H. dujardinii.

α-Crystallin maintains the transparency of the lens by preventing the aggregation of damaged proteins. The aim of our work was to study the chaperone-like activity of native α-crystallin in near physiological conditions (temperature, ionic power, pH) using UV-damaged βL-crystallin as the target protein. α-Crystallin in concentration depended manner inhibits the aggregation of UV-damaged βL-crystallin. DSC investigation has shown that refolding of denatured UV-damaged βL-crystallin was not observed under incubation with α-crystallin. α-Crystallin and UV-damaged βL-crystallin form dynamic complexes with masses from 75 to several thousand kDa. The content of UV-damaged βL-crystallin in such complexes increases with the mass of the complex. Complexes containing >10% of UV-damaged βL-crystallin are prone to precipitation whereas those containing

Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) contains a wide range of low- and high-molecular-weight compounds and is of great research interest in the search for markers of socially significant pathologies. Due to its noninvasive, rapid, and safe collection methods, an EBC sample can serve as a diagnostic sample for use in personalized instruments of body state monitoring. The use of modern high-sensitivity methods, such as mass spectrometry, forms the basis for reliable and most complete identification of the EBC molecular profile. During study, the comparative analysis of some of these methods was performed, and the most optimum approach to molecular profiling of exhaled breath condensate using high-resolution mass spectrometry was proposed. It has been shown that data from analysis of the EBC molecular profile can depend significantly on both the type of a device used to collect EBC and the cooling temperature of the condenser. It should be noted that a large number of compounds have identified in EBC residues sorbed on the walls of collecting devices that were additionally collected using an organic solvent.

Changes in bacterial physiology caused by the combined action of the magnetic force and microgravity were studied in

Introduction Lung cancer remains the most prevalent cause of cancer mortality worldwide mainly due to insufficient availability of early screening methods for wide-scale application. Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is currently considered as one of the promising targets for early screening and is particularly attractive due to its absolutely noninvasive collection and possibility for long-term frozen storage. EBC proteome analysis can provide valuable information about the (patho)physiological changes in the respiratory system and may help to identify in time a high risk of lung cancer. Mass spectrometry (MS) profiling of EBC proteome seems to have no alternative in obtaining the most extensive data and characteristic marker panels for screening. Areas covered This special report summarizes the data of several proteomic studies of EBC in normal and lung cancer (from 2012 to 2021, PubMed), focuses on the possible reasons for the significant discrepancy in the results, and discusses some aspects for special attention in further studies. Expert opinion The significant discrepancy in the results of various studies primarily highlights the need to create standardized protocols for the collection and preparation of EBC for proteomic analysis. The application of quantitative and targeted LC-MS/MS based approaches seems to be the most promising in further EBC proteomic studies.

Immunoprecipitation (IP) combined with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry is a powerful instrument for peptide and protein identification in biological samples. In this study, the analytical capabilities of MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry for relative quantitation of isoAsp7 in Aβ(1-42) and Aβ(1-16) were investigated. The possibility of quantitative determination of isoAsp7 in Aβ(1-42) with the detection limit as low as 2 pmol has been demonstrated. The same approach was applied for a shorter peptide Aβ(1-16) and resulted in enhanced accuracy (± 3.2%), and lower detection limit (50 fmol). Pilot experiments with artificial cerebrospinal fluid and mouse brain tissue were performed and showed that the proposed IP-MALDI-TOF/TOF approach could be applied for measuring isoAβ content in biological fluids and tissues. Additionally, it was shown that 6E10 anti-amyloid antibodies might affect the accuracy of the amyloid-β quantitation in the presence of the isomerized peptide.

Fibrinogen is highly susceptible to oxidation compared to other plasma proteins. Fibrinogen oxidation damages its structure and affects the protein function. Ozone-induced oxidative modifications of the fibrinogen Aα, Bβ, and γ polypeptide chains upon addition of various amounts of the oxidiser were studied by mass spectrometry. Amino acid residues located on all three chains and main structural parts of the protein were revealed to be involved in oxidation. The αC-connector was shown to be most vulnerable to oxidation as compared to other structural parts while the E region turned out to be the most protected area of the protein. For the first time, it was established that numerous amino acid residues responsible for the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin remain unaffected upon fibrinogen oxidation. The data obtained in this study indicate that none of the identified residues, which are considered crucial for the binding of both hole "a" and hole "b" to knob "A" and knob "B", respectively, as well as those responsible for the thrombin binding to fibrinogen E region, have been subjected to chemical alterations under moderate oxidation. The data on fibrinogen oxidation acquired in the current study enable one to assume that some of the structural fibrinogen parts and easily oxidisable residues could be endowed with antioxidant properties. New findings presented here could be essential for the detection of adaptive molecular mechanisms capable of mitigating the detrimental action of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on the functioning of oxidatively damaged fibrinogen. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD012046. Highlights Various oxidative modifications were detected in fibrinogen by mass spectrometry αC-connector has been shown to be most susceptible to oxidation E region proved to be least vulnerable to the action of the oxidising agent Some of the Met residues in the fibrinogen structure could operate as ROS scavengers.

Oxidation of fibrinogen with hypochlorite inhibited the fibrin network self-assembly even at the lowest concentration of the oxidant. The analysis of the results of protein electrophoresis at this hypochlorite concentration showed the absence of fragmentation of the protein and covalent cross-linking of its chains. The study of the areas responsible for the conversion of fibrinogen into fibrin by mass spectrometry showed that they are not subject to oxidative damage. However, we identified oxidized amino acid residues, which could affect the protofibril aggregation.

The effects of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in women on the gestation course and the health of the fetus, particularly in the first and second trimesters, remain very poorly explored. This report describes a case in which the normal development of pregnancy was complicated immediately after the patient had experienced Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) at the 21st week of gestation. Specific conditions included critical blood flow in the fetal umbilical artery, fetal growth restriction (1st percentile), right ventricular hypertrophy, hydropericardium, echo-characteristics of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (leukomalacia in periventricular area) and intraventricular hemorrhage at the 25th week of gestation. Premature male neonate delivered at the 26th week of gestation died after 1 day 18 h due to asystole. The results of independent polymerase chain reaction (PCR), mass spectrometry and immunohistochemistry analyses of placenta tissue, umbilical cord blood and child blood jointly indicated vertical transmission of SARS–CoV-2 from mother to the fetus, which we conclude to be the major cause for the development of maternal vascular malperfusion in the studied case.

In this work, we demonstrate a new approach for interactively assessing hyperspectral data spatial structures for heterogeneity using mass spectrometry imaging. This approach is based on the visualization of the cosine distance as the similarity levels between mass spectra of a chosen region and the rest of the image (sample). The applicability of the method is demonstrated on a set of mass spectrometry images of frontal mouse brain slices. Selection of the reference pixel of the mass spectrometric image and a further view of the corresponding cosine distance map helps to prepare supporting vectors for further analysis, select features, and carry out biological interpretation of different tissues in the mass spectrometry context with or without histological annotation. Visual inspection of the similarity maps reveals the spatial distribution of features in tissue samples, which can serve as the molecular histological annotation of a slide.

Methodology This study was approved by the Institute Research Medical Ethics Committee. The study involved 62 patients vaccinated against HPV, aged 19 to 45 years. The patients were divided into 2 groups: group 1 - HPV-positive (n = 14) and group 2 - HPV-negative (n = 48). CVF proteomic analysis was carried out by the bottom-up method (HPLC-MS/MS) on an Agilent 1100/7 Tl LTQ-FT Ultra mass spectrometer (Thermo Electron, Germany). The search for protein identification and semiquantitative analysis was carried out against the UniProt Knowledgebase (UniProtKB, version 16.05.2014) using the MaxQuant software, version 1.1.1.2. Results None of the vaccinated women showed cervical pathology by cytology. In 6 cases, a biopsy of the cervix was performed in the presence of HPV carcinogenic risk together with mild changes in the cervix epithelium during colposcopy. The histological diagnosis in all cases (n = 6) corresponded to CIN1. In total, more than 419 different proteins were detected in CVF samples. The level of 34 CVF proteins were significantly different in HPV positive group compared to HPV negative patients (p Conclusion A high incidence of HPV was revealed in Russian women previously vaccinated against HPV (23%). CIN 1 was detected in 6 HPV-positive vaccinated women (43%) with normal cytology (NILM). Proteomic analysis of CVF can be proposed as a non-invasive method for detecting biomarkers for early diagnosis of CIN. This work was supported by RSF grant No. 18-75-10097. Disclosures Nothing to disclose.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a severe pregnancy complication, which may be considered as a systemic response in the second half of pregnancy to physiological failures in the first trimester, and can lead to very serious consequences for the health of the mother and fetus. Since PE is often associated with proteinuria, urine proteomic assays may represent a powerful tool for timely diagnostics and appropriate management. High resolution mass spectrometry was applied for peptidome analysis of 127 urine samples of pregnant women with various hypertensive complications: normotensive controls (n = 17), chronic hypertension (n = 16), gestational hypertension (n = 15), mild PE (n = 25), severe PE (n = 25), and 29 patients with complicated diagnoses. Analysis revealed 3869 peptides, which mostly belong to 116 groups with overlapping sequences. A panel of 22 marker peptide groups reliably differentiating PE was created by multivariate statistics, and included 15 collagen groups (from COL1A1, COL3A1, COL2A1, COL4A4, COL5A1, and COL8A1), and single loci from alpha-1-antitrypsin, fibrinogen, membrane-associated progesterone receptor component 1, insulin, EMI domain-containing protein 1, lysine-specific demethylase 6B, and alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein each. ROC analysis of the created model resulted in 88% sensitivity, 96.8% specificity, and receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) = 0.947. Obtained results confirm the high diagnostic potential of urinary peptidome profiling for pregnancy hypertensive disorders diagnostics., Diagnostics, 10 (12)

Matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry can be used for rapid quantitation of peptides with various post-translational modifications (PTM), even if they do not shift the mass of the native peptide. Previously, it was shown that MALDI-TOF MS can be used for quantitation of isoD7 beta-amyloid 1-42 peptide. On the basis of the differences in the collision-induced dissociation fragmentation pattern of native Aβ, isoD7 Aβ, isoD23 Aβ, and isoD7_23 peptide (a di-isomerized peptide with both isomerization of D7 and D23 residues), we developed a MALDI-TOF-based method for simultaneous quantitation of all of these isoforms. Using multivariate regression for analysis of fragment MS data, the method allows the determination of the molar fractions of all of these isoforms with up to 16% error for mixtures with 2 pmol total amount of the beta-amyloid peptide.

It is known that nitric oxide (NO) may affect myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoform mRNA transcription in skeletal muscles. The content of NO in soleus muscles decreases during rat hindlimb unloading as well as slow MyHC mRNA transcription. We aimed to detect which signaling pathways are involved in NO-dependent prevention of hindlimb-suspension (HS)-induced changes in MyHCs’ expression pattern. Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: cage control group (C), hindlimb suspended for 7 days (7HS), hindlimb suspended for 7 days with L-arginine administration (7HS+A) (500 mg/kg body mass), and hindlimb suspended for 7 days with both L-arginine (500 mg/kg) and NO-synthase inhibitor L-NAME administration (50 mg/kg) (7HS+A+N). L-arginine treatment during 7 days of rat HS prevented HS-induced NO content decrease and slow MyHC mRNA transcription decrease and attenuated fast MyHC IIb mRNA transcription increase; it also prevented NFATc1 nuclear content decrease, calsarcin-2 expression increase, and GSK-3β Ser 9 phosphorylation decrease. Moreover, L-arginine administration prevented the HS-induced myh7b and PGC1α mRNAs content decreases and slow-type genes repressor SOX6 mRNA transcription increase. All these slow fiber-type protective effects of L-arginine were blocked in HS+A+N group, indicating that these effects were NO-dependent. Thus, NO decrease prevention during HS restores calcineurin/NFATc1 and myh7b/SOX6 signaling.

The blood coagulation factor XIII (FXIII) plays a critical role in supporting coagulation and fibrinolysis due to both the covalent crosslinking of fibrin polymers, rendering them resistant to plasmin lysis, and the crosslinking of fibrin to proteins of the fibrinolytic system. The hypochlorite-mediated oxidation of the blood coagulation factor XIII (FXIII) at the different stages of its enzymatic activation is studied for the first time in this paper. The consolidated results obtained with the aid of MS/MS, electrophoresis, and colorimetry demonstrate that in the process of FXIII&rsquo, s conversion into FXIIIa, the vulnerability of FXIII to hypochlorite-induced oxidation increased as follows: native FXIII &lt, FXIII + Ca2+ &lt, &lt, FXIII + Ca2+/thrombin. The modification sites were detected among all the structural regions of the catalytic FXIII-A subunit, except for the activation peptide, and embraced several sushi domains of the FXIII-B subunit. Oxidized amino acid residues belonging to FXIII-A are surface-exposed residues and can perform an antioxidant role. The regulatory FXIII-B subunits additionally contribute to the antioxidant defense of the catalytic center of the FXIII-A subunits. Taken together, the present data along with the data from previous studies demonstrate that the FXIII proenzyme structure is adapted to oxidation.

Detection of viral RNA by PCR is currently the main diagnostic tool for COVID-19 [1]. The PCR-based test, however, shows limited sensitivity, especially at early and late stages of the disease development [2,3], and is relatively time consuming. Fast and reliable complementary methods for detecting the viral infection would be of help in the current pandemia conditions. Mass-spectrometry is one of such possibilities. We have developed a mass-spectrometry based method for the detection of the SARS CoV-2 virus in nasopharynx epithelial swabs, based on the detection of the viral nucleocapsid N protein. The N protein of the SARS-COV-2 virus, the most abundant protein in the virion, is the best candidate for mass-spectrometric detection of the infection, and MS-based detection of several peptides from the SARS-COoV-2 nucleoprotein has been reported earlier by the Sinz group [4]. Our approach shows confident identification of the N protein in patient samples even with the lowest viral loads and a much simpler preparation procedure. Our main protocol consists of virus inactivation by heating and adding of isopropanol, and tryptic digestion of the proteins sedimented from the swabs followed by MS analysis. A set of unique peptides, produced as a result of proteolysis of the nucleocapsid phosphoprotein of SARS-CoV-2, is detected. The obtained results can further be used to create fast parallel mass-spectrometric approaches for the detection of the virus in the nasopharyngeal mucosa, saliva, sputum and other physiological fluids.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a multisystem disorder associated with pregnancy and its frequency varies from 5 to 20 percent of pregnancies. Although a number of preeclampsia studies have been carried out, there is no consensus about disease etiology and pathogenesis so far. Peptides of SERPINA1 (&alpha, 1-antitrypsin) in urine remain one of the most promising peptide markers of PE. In this study the diagnostic potential of urinary &alpha, 1-antitrypsin peptides in PE was evaluated. The urinary peptidome composition of 79 pregnant women with preeclampsia (PE), chronic arterial hypertension (CAH), and a control group was investigated. Mann&ndash, Whitney U-test (p &lt, 0.05) revealed seven PE specific SERPINA1 peptides demonstrating 52% sensitivity and 100% specificity. SERPINA1 in urine has been associated with the most severe forms of preeclampsia (p = 0.014), in terms of systolic hypertension (p = 0.01) and proteinuria (p = 0.006). According to Spearman correlation analysis, the normalized intensity of SERPINA1 urinary peptides has a similar diagnostic pattern with known diagnostic PE markers, such as sFLT/PLGF. SERPINA1 peptides were not urinary excreted in superimposed PE (PE with CAH), which is a milder form of PE. An increase in expression of SERPINA1 in the structural elements of the placenta during preeclampsia reflects a protective mechanism against hypoxia. Increased synthesis of SERPINA1 in the trophoblast leads to protein accumulation in fibrinoid deposits. It may block syncytial knots and placenta villi, decreasing trophoblast invasion. Excretion of PE specific SERPINA1 peptides is associated with syncytiotrophoblast membrane destruction degradation and increased SERPINA1 staining. It confirms that the placenta could be the origin of SERPINA1 peptides in urine. Significant correlation (p &lt, 0.05) of SERPINA1 expression in syncytiotrophoblast membrane and cytoplasm with the main clinical parameters of severe PE proves the role of SERPINA1 in PE pathogenesis. Estimation of SERPINA1 peptides in urine can be used as a diagnostic test of the severity of the condition to determine further treatment, particularly the need for urgent surgical delivery.

Compound T1059 (1-cyclohexanecarbonyl-2-ethylisothiourea hydrobromide) was found to be water soluble, moderately toxic (i.p. LD16 and LD50 of 274 and 380 mg/kg), and capable of competitively inhibiting nitric-oxide synthase (NOS) activity with significant selectivity toward inducible and endothelial isoforms (IC50 for nNOS, iNOS, and eNOS of 60.3, 1.8, and 3.2 μM, respectively). T1059 was rapidly absorbed after a single i.p. injection (dose range 10 – 30 mg/kg) and distributed in tissues, causing pronounced suppression of endogenous NO production. T1059 at a dose of 10 mg/kg in normotensive anesthetized Wistar rats produced long-term vasoconstriction. The observed changes in vascular tone did not influence inotropic heart function but were accompanied by weak bradycardia.

Study Objective To introduce a method for the rapid assessment of endometriotic tissues using direct mass spectrometry (MS)-based lipidomics. Design A prospective observational cohort study (Canadian Task Force classification II2). Setting Department of Operative Gynecology of the Research Centre for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology. Patients Fifty patients with ovarian cysts and peritoneal endometriosis who underwent laparoscopic surgery between 2014 and 2016. Intervention Differences in mass spectrometric profiles of ectopic endometria (endometriosis) and eutopic endometria were analyzed for each patient in combination with morphohistologic evaluation. The lipidomic approach was applied using a direct high-resolution MS method. Measurements and Main Results Of 148 metabolites, 15 showed significant differences between endometriotic tissue and a healthy endometrium of the same patient, considered as a control in this study. The main lipids prevalent in endometriotic tissues were phosphoethanolamine (PE O-20:0), sphingomyelin (SM 34:1), diglycerides (DG 44:9), phosphatidylcholines (PC 32:1, PC O-36:3, PC 38:7, PC 38:6, PC 40:8, PC 40:7, PC 40:6, PC 40:9, and PC O-42:1), and triglycerides (TG 41:2, TG 49:4, and TG 52:3). Using partial least squares discriminant analysis models, MS showed that the lipidomic profile of endometriotic tissue (peritoneal endometriosis and ovarian endometriomas) was clearly separated from the eutopic endometrium, indicating tissue-type differentiation. Conclusion Our results suggest that direct MS may play an important role for endometriotic tissue identification. Such an approach has potential usefulness for real-time tissue determination and differentiation during surgical treatment. Lipids of 3 important classes, sphingolipids, phospholipids, and the fatty acids (di- and triglycerides), were identified. Validation is required to determine whether these lipids can be used to discriminate between patients with endometriosis and those with other gynecologic diseases.

Skeletal muscle myosin phenotype (i.e., the predominance in the muscle of a particular isoform or isoforms of myosin heavy chains (MyHC)) determines the properties of muscle, such as contraction speed and fatigue. The aim of this study was to identify the functional relationship between the decrease of the nitric oxide (NO) content, the GSK-3β phosphorylation (leading to the GSK-3β activation), the NFATc1 amount in the muscle nuclei, and the MyHC I(β) isoform expression in the rat soleus muscle under gravitational unloading. Male Wistar rats were divided into five groups: the vivarium control group; the group of animals with a 7-day hind limb suspension receiving placebo; the group of animals with a hind limb suspension receiving a NO donor (L-arginine); the group of animals with a hind limb suspension receiving a NO donor and a NO-synthase inhibitor (L-NAME); and the group of animals with a hind limb suspension receiving a GSK-3β inhibitor. We have shown that a 7-day unloading leads to a NO content decrease in the soleus muscle, and this effect is prevented by L-arginine administration. In addition, administration of L-arginine blocks the GSK-3β phosphorylation decrease, NFATc1 export from the muscle nuclei, and MyHC I(β) expression decrease caused by unloading. The L-arginine effect in each case can be blocked by the NO-synthase inhibitor. Administration of the GSK-3β inhibitor prevents the unloading-induced NFATc1 export from the muscle nuclei and a decrease of the MyHC I(β) expression. The prevention of the MyHC I(β) expression decrease and the NFATc1 export from the nucleus by the selective GSK-3β inhibition confirms the hypothesis on the NO influence on the MyHC I(β) expression and the NFATc1 export from the nucleus via the GSK-3β phosphorylation decrease. Thus, the NO level decrease in the rat soleus muscle in unloading leads to the GSK-3β activation, which in turn, promotes the NFATc1 export from the nucleus and stabilization of the fast myosin phenotype.

Monitoring of peptides offers a promising approach for the discovery of novel biomarkers, which might be valuable for detection, treatment and prevention of large variety of diseases. Development of highly effective methods for plasma peptide extraction remains an important task. In the current study, we applied different types of plasma peptide extraction approaches to reveal efficient methods which would provide the highest peptide yield. We used different combinations of plasma treatment with acetonitrile and/or urea/guanidine, protein precipitation by acetone, gel-filtration, ultrafiltration, and two types of solid phase extraction. The extracted peptides were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. The obtained results suggest that several methods, including differential solubilization, organic precipitation, as well as some variants of ultrafiltration and solid phase extraction, provide effective plasma peptide enrichment convenient for further LC-MS/MS analysis. Alas, most of the identified peptides were extracted by only one of the applied methods. Hence, it seems reasonable to consider several methods to increase the possibility of novel biomarker discovery.

For the first time, by using the complex of physicochemical methods (mass-spectrometry, differential scanning calorimetry, spectrofluorimetry, method of spectral and fluorescent probes, dynamic light scattering, and UV spectrophotometry), the oxidation-mediated modification of chemical and spatial structure of albumin has been studied. All albumin structural regions are subjected to oxidation, methionine and aromatic amino acids primarily involved in oxidation. The albumin melting shows a decrease in thermal stabilization of the structure and changing of aggregation upon oxidation. The change in physical and chemical properties of albumin under different quantity of the oxidizer has been analyzed.

By using the mass-spectrometry method, the oxidative modifications of the fibrinogen Aα, Bβ, and γ polypeptide chains induced by its oxidation have been studied. The αC-region has been proven to be the most vulnerable target for the oxidizer (ozone) as compared with the other structural elements of the Aα chain. The Bβ chain mapping shows that the oxidative sites are localized within all the structural elements of the chain in which the β-nodule exhibits high susceptibility to oxidation. The γ chains are the least vulnerable to the oxidizer action. The results obtained demonstrate convincingly that the self-assembly centers dealing with interactions of knob "A": hole "a" are not involved in oxidative modification. It is concluded that the numerous oxidative sites revealed are mainly responsible for inhibiting lateral aggregation of protofibrils. The part of amino acid residues subjected to oxidation is supposed to carry out the antioxidant function.

Invasiveness of examination and therapy methods is a serious problem for intensive care and nursing of premature infants. Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is the most attractive biofluid for non-invasive methods development in neonatology for monitoring the status of intubated infants. The aim of the study was to propose an approach for EBC sampling and analysis from mechanically ventilated neonates. EBC collection system with good reproducibility of sampling was demonstrated. Discovery-based proteomic and metabolomic studies were performed using nano-HPLC coupled to high resolution MS. Label-free semi-quantitative data were compared for intubated neonates with congenital pneumonia (12 infants) and left-sided congenital diaphragmatic hernia (12 infants) in order to define disease-specific features. Totally 119 proteins and 164 metabolites were found. A number of proteins and metabolites that can act as potential biomarkers of respiratory diseases were proposed and require further validation.

In order to find a peptide panel to differentiate close hypertensive conditions a case-control study was designed for 64 women from 4 groups: preeclampsia (PE), chronic hypertension superimposed with PE, chronic hypertension, and healthy individuals. Chromatography coupled with mass-spectrometry and subsequent bioinformatic analysis showed several patterns in the changes of the urine peptidome. There were 36 peptides common for four groups. Twenty two of them 22 belonged to alpha-1-chain of collagen I, nine peptides were from alpha-1-chain of collagen III, two from alpha-2-chain of collagen I, one from alpha-1/2-chain of collagen I, one from alpha-1-chain of collagen I/XVIII and one from uromodulin. Patients with hypertensive disorders had 34 common peptides: 12 from alpha-1-chain of collagen I, 10 from fibrinogen alpha-chain, eight from alpha-1-chain of collagen III, and 4 per other types of collagen. Comparative analysis revealed 12 peptides, which could be used as a diagnostic panel for confident discrimination of pregnant women with various hypertensive disorders.C tsel'iu poiska paneli peptidov, pozvoliaiushcheĭ differentsirovat' blizkie gipertenzivnye sostoianiia beremennykh, bylo provedeno issledovanie sluchaĭ-kontrol' u 64 zhenshchin 4-kh grupp: preéklampsiia (PÉ), PÉ na fone KhAG (khronicheskaia arterial'naia gipertenziia), KhAG, zdorovye. Khromato-mass-spektrometricheskiĭ analiz s ispol'zovaniem bioinformatsionnogo podkhoda pozvolil vyiavit' nekotorye zakonomernosti v izmenenii peptidnogo sostava mochi. Dlia vsekh chetyrekh grupp byli kharakterny obshchie 36 peptidov: 22 iz nikh otnosiatsia k al'fa-1 tsepi kollagena 1, 9 – k al'fa-1 tsepi kollagena 3, 2 – k al'fa-2 tsepi kollagena 1, 1 – k al'fa-1/2 tsepi kollagena 1, 1 – k al'fa-1 tsepi kollagena 1/18 i 1 – k uromodulinu. Dlia patsientok s gipertenzivnymi narusheniiami (PÉ, PÉ na fone KhAG, KhAG) kharakterny obshchie 34 peptida: 12 iz al'fa-1 tsepi kollagena 1, 10 iz al'fa-fibrinogena, 8 iz al'fa-1 tsepi kollagena 3, i po 4 iz drugikh tipov kollagena. V rezul'tate sravnitel'nogo analiza byla sformirovana panel' iz 12-ti peptidov, pozvoliaiushchikh odnoznachno differentsirovat' gipertenzivnye rasstroĭstva u beremennykh.