Meert Paulien

phone: ++32 9 264 80 53
fax: ++32 9 220 66 88

TITLE

PiTRAQ as a model to develop a new MS-based technique that can elucidate posttranslational modifications

SUMMARY

Reversible protein phosphorylation is, given its central role in cellular processes, one of the major posttranslational modifications. Because of low relative abundance and dynamic regulation, present quantitative techniques based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry are not entirely sufficient. Therefore the biggest challenge within current phosphoproteomics is to achieve a shift from long lists of identified phosphorylation sites to reliable quantitative data.
We will evaluate a new iTRAQ strategy the for the identification and quantitation of phosphorylation events in vivo. Minimal technical variation of the strategy allows for unlimited prefractionation steps and will increase protein coverage significantly. This new methodology is not limited to the quantification of phosphorylation. Provided the necessary adjustments and related optimization, the technique can also be used to quantify other posttranslational modifications. A similar experimental set-up will therefore be applied to analyze both glycosylation and citrullination.

PUBLICATIONS

http://lib.ugent.be/bibliografie/802001079766