Mass spectrometric analyses of organophosphate insecticide oxon protein adducts.
OBJECTIVE
Organophosphate (OP) insecticides continue to be used to control insect pests. Acute and chronic exposures to OP insecticides have been documented to cause adverse health effects, but few OP-adducted proteins have been correlated with these illnesses at the molecular level. Our aim was to review the literature covering the current state of the art in mass spectrometry (MS) used to identify OP protein biomarkers.


METHODS
We identified general and specific research reports related to OP insecticides, OP toxicity, OP structure, and protein MS by searching PubMed and Chemical Abstracts for articles published before December 2008.


RESULTS
A number of OP-based insecticides share common structural elements that result in predictable OP-protein adducts. The resultant OP-protein adducts show an increase in molecular mass that can be identified by MS and correlated with the OP agent. Customized OP-containing probes have also been used to tag and identify protein targets that can be identified by MS.


CONCLUSIONS
MS is a useful and emerging tool for the identification of proteins that are modified by activated organophosphate insecticides. MS can characterize the structure of the OP adduct and also the specific amino acid residue that forms the key bond with the OP. Each protein that is modified in a unique way by an OP represents a unique molecular biomarker that with further research can lead to new correlations with exposure.
Thompson
Charles M
CM
Center for Structural and Functional Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812, USA. charles.thompson@umontana.edu
Prins
John M
JM
George
Kathleen M
KM
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D002802:Cholinesterases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007306:Insecticides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects
D015415:Biomarkers; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007306:Insecticides; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D011506:Proteins; D002802:Cholinesterases