title: Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis of proteins in human cerebrospinal fluid.
abstract: Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectra of proteins in cerebrospinal fluid analyzed without prior purification are presented. Less than 100 fmol amounts of proteins in the 10,000 to 20,000 u mass range and linked to human disease (multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and stroke) were detected in a complex mixture of proteins and peptides, in the presence of high concentrations of salts, lipids and free amino acids. The mass resolution was sufficient to distinguish between the non-hydroxylated and hydroxylated forms of a 13,400 u protein. Simple fractionation of the cerebrospinal fluid using microbore-reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography improved signal-to-noise ratios in the mass spectra. High-accuracy peptide mass mapping and database searching were utilized to confirm the identity of several proteins. The presented results show that matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry could be used as a tool to perform rapid screening of chemically altered proteins in small volumes of biological fluids.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Göteborg University, Sahlgrenska University Hospital/Mölndal, Sweden.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Westman
authors.forename: C L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ekman
mesh_terms: D015153:Blotting, Western; D002556:Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006801:Humans; D006868:Hydrolysis; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010449:Peptide Mapping; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D014357:Trypsin
chemical_list: D002556:Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins; D014357:Trypsin