Discovery of Novel Biochemical Pathways Using Proteomics Approaches

Extensive studies in histones and p53 suggest that these proteins can be modified by an array of protein post-translational modifications (PTMs), most of which are correlated with important biological functions. Nevertheless, PTM types and their sites in other proteins remain largely unknown, except several widely studied ones. The information deficiency suggests an urgent need for reliable technology for characterization of all the PTMs in a protein and for their dynamic studies. To this end, we recently developed an unrestrictive protein sequence alignment algorithm, PTMap, and used it in conjunction with mass spectrometry for accurate identification of all the possible PTMs, known or undescribed ones. We have used the algorithm to identify novel PTMs, to discover common in vitro protein modifications, to study PTM cross-talks, and to study protein mutations. In this presentation, applications of such mass spectrometry-based proteomics technologies will be discussed.