胰蛋白酶的非特异性裂解特性及其对肽段质谱分析结果的影响

Study on Non-Specific Cleavage Characteristics of Trypsin and Its Impact on the Analysis of Peptides by Mass Spectrometry

  • 摘要: 胰蛋白酶高效作用于精氨酸/赖氨酸残基,是蛋白质组学研究和蛋白质定量分析中最常用的特异性肽链内切酶,但消化过程中常在苯丙氨酸(F)、酪氨酸(Y)、色氨酸(W)等位点产生非特异性裂解。为探究胰蛋白酶的非特异性裂解特性、成因及该现象对蛋白质分析准确性的影响,本研究评估了不同来源、不同处理方式所获得的胰蛋白酶,包括普通胰蛋白酶(牛胰腺来源,经甲苯磺酰苯丙氨酰氯甲酮(TPCK)进行胰凝乳蛋白酶灭活处理)、质谱测序级胰蛋白酶(牛胰腺来源,经TPCK进行胰凝乳蛋白酶灭活及甲基化修饰处理)和真核生物表达重组胰蛋白酶的切割特异性,并考察底物浓度、酶底比、反应pH值、温度及反应时间等消化参数对非特异性裂解的影响。结果显示,胰蛋白酶来源及处理方式是影响非特异性裂解的关键因素,普通胰蛋白酶存在明显的胰凝乳蛋白酶污染和自溶倾向,非特异性裂解程度显著高于测序级和重组胰蛋白酶,酶浓度与非特异性裂解率呈正相关,碱性条件同样会加剧该现象。普通胰蛋白酶在37 ℃时裂解率最高,非特异性裂解率与底物浓度呈反比,且随反应时间延长而上升。相比之下,测序级和重组胰蛋白酶在温度、时间和底物浓度变化时表现出更稳定的酶切特异性。综上,实验过程中优先选择高纯度、经修饰的胰蛋白酶,优化酶切参数可有效减少非特异性裂解。

     

    Abstract: Trypsin specifically cleaves peptide bonds at arginine and lysine residues, making it the most frequently utilized specific endopeptidase in proteomics and protein quantification studies owing to its high cleavage efficiency, strong specificity, and wide applicability in various experimental systems. However, during proteolytic digestion, it often produces non-specific cleavage at sites containing phenylalanine (F), tyrosine (Y), and tryptophan (W), which may interfere with subsequent peptide separation and identification, reduce the reliability of experimental results, and even lead to misinterpretation of protein expression profiles. To explore the characteristics and intrinsic causes of trypsin’s non-specific cleavage, as well as the specific impacts of this phenomenon on the accuracy of protein analysis, this study systematically evaluated the cleavage specificity of trypsin derived from different sources and subjected to different methods. The trypsin reagents included conventional trypsin derived from bovine pancreas that had been treated with tosylphenylalanyl chloromethyl ketone (TPCK) to inactivate chymotrypsin; mass spectrometry sequencing-grade trypsin, also derived from bovine pancreas, which was not only treated with TPCK for chymotrypsin inactivation but also modified via methylation to enhance its stability and cleavage specificity; and recombinant trypsin expressed in eukaryotic systems, which can effectively eliminate contamination by other proteases. Meanwhile, this study comprehensively investigated the effects of key digestion parameters, including substrate concentration, enzyme-to-substrate ratio, reaction pH, reaction temperature, and reaction duration, on non-specific cleavage to identify the key factors of this phenomenon and provide targeted optimization strategies. The results showed that the source and processing methods of trypsin are key factors affecting the levels of non-specific cleavage. Conventional trypsin has obvious chymotrypsin contamination and a strong autolysis tendency, which directly leads to a markedly higher level of non-specific cleavage compared with sequencing-grade and recombinant trypsin. In addition, enzyme concentration displays a significant positive correlation with the non-specific cleavage rate, and alkaline conditions can further intensify this non-specific cleavage phenomenon. Conventional trypsin reaches maximum cleavage efficiency at 37 ℃; its non-specific cleavage rate is inversely proportional to substrate concentration and rises progressively with the extension of reaction time. In contrast, sequencing-grade and recombinant trypsin maintain stable cleavage specificity against variations in temperature, reaction time, and substrate concentration, with their non-specific cleavage rate remaining at a low level. In summary, prioritizing the use of high-purity modified trypsin and scientifically optimizing enzymatic digestion parameters during experiments can effectively mitigate non-specific cleavage, ensure the accuracy and reliability of protein analysis results, and establish a solid foundation for subsequent proteomic research, protein interaction analysis, and other relevant experimental investigations.

     

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