| Autor: |
Yang Y; Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA., Ivanov DG; Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA., Levin MD; Proteogenomics Research Institute for Systems Medicine, La Jolla, California 92037, USA., Olenyuk B; Proteogenomics Research Institute for Systems Medicine, La Jolla, California 92037, USA., Cordova-Robles O; Proteogenomics Research Institute for Systems Medicine, La Jolla, California 92037, USA., Cederstrom B; Proteogenomics Research Institute for Systems Medicine, La Jolla, California 92037, USA., Schnitzer JE; Proteogenomics Research Institute for Systems Medicine, La Jolla, California 92037, USA., Kaltashov IA; Department of Chemistry, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, USA. |
| Abstrakt: |
Large immune complexes formed by the cross-linking of antibodies with polyvalent antigens play critical roles in modulating cell-mediated immunity. While both the size and the shape of immune complexes are important determinants in Fc receptor-mediated signaling responsible for phagocytosis, degranulation, and, in some instances, autoimmune pathologies, their characterization remains extremely challenging due to their large size and structural heterogeneity. We use native mass spectrometry (MS) supplemented with limited charge reduction in the gas phase to determine the stoichiometry of immune complexes formed by a bivalent (homodimeric) antigen, a 163 kDa aminopeptidase P2 (APP2), and a monoclonal antibody (mAb) to APP2. The observed (APP2·mAb) n complexes populate a wide range of stoichiometries ( n = 1-4) with the largest detected species exceeding 1 MDa, although the gas-phase dissociation products are also evident in the mass spectra. While frequently considering a nuisance that complicates interpretation of native MS data, limited dissociation provides an additional dimension for characterization of the immune complex quaternary structure. APP2/mAb associations with identical composition but slightly different elution times in size exclusion chromatography exhibit notable differences in their spontaneous fragmentation profiles. The latter indicates the presence of both extended linear and cyclized (APP2·mAb) n configurations. The unique ability of MS to distinguish between such isomeric structures will be invaluable for a variety of applications where the biological effects of immune complexes are determined by their ability to assemble Fc receptor clusters of certain density on cell surfaces, such as platelet activation by clustering the low-affinity receptors FcγRIIa on their surface. |
