Acid hydrolysis followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry for the rapid diagnosis of serum protein biomarkers in patients with major depression

Li Hua Lo, Tiao Lai Huang*, Jentaie Shiea

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

We have developed a technique combining acid hydrolysis with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) for the rapid study of the changes in the levels of positive and negative acute phase protein biomarkers in the sera of patients suffering from major depression. The serum proteins were first precipitated using an organic solvent; after separation, they were subjected to hydrochloric acid hydrolysis (6M HCl) for 10 min. The resulting peptides were characterized using MALDI-TOF MS. Short-term treatment of the serum proteins with HCl efficiently removed interference from the abundant protein - albumin - and produced abundant peptide ion signals in the range of m/z 4000-10 000. This approach allowed us to rapidly detect the peptide ions originating from transferrin (a common negative acute phase protein) and fibrinogen (a common positive acute phase protein). The average ratios and (standard deviations) of the ion signals derived from transferrin/fibrinogen were 3.58 (±1.93) for the healthy control subjects and 1.02 (±0.52) for the patients suffering from major depression. The differences in transferrin/fibrinogen ratios between healthy controls and patients suggest that major depression will induce internal inflammation and cause either an increase in the level of fibrinogen or a decrease in the level of transferrin.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)589-598
Number of pages10
JournalRapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry
Volume23
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 03 2009

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Acid hydrolysis followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry for the rapid diagnosis of serum protein biomarkers in patients with major depression'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this