title: Analysis of protein-nucleic acid interactions by photochemical cross-linking and mass spectrometry.
abstract: Photochemical cross-linking is a commonly used method for studying the molecular details of protein-nucleic acid interactions. Photochemical cross-linking aids in defining nucleic acid binding sites of proteins via subsequent identification of cross-linked protein domains and amino acid residues. Mass spectrometry (MS) has emerged as a sensitive and efficient analytical technique for determination of such cross-linking sites in proteins. The present review of the field describes a number of MS-based approaches for the characterization of cross-linked protein-nucleic acid complexes and for sequencing of peptide-nucleic acid heteroconjugates. The combination of photochemical cross-linking and MS provides a fast screening method to gain insights into the overall structure and formation of protein-oligonucleotide complexes. Because the analytical methods are continuously refined and protein structural data are rapidly accumulating in databases, we envision that many protein-nucleic acid assemblies will be initially characterized by combinations of cross-linking methods, MS, and computational molecular modeling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, DK-5230 Odense M, Denmark.
authors.forename: Hanno
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Steen
authors.forename: Ole Nørregaard
authors.initials: ON
authors.lastname: Jensen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000737:chemistry*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009696:Nucleic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D010777:Photochemistry; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
chemical_list: D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D009696:Nucleic Acids; D011506:Proteins