Carla Schmidt

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz | JGU

Myo-inositol-1-phosphate synthase (MIPS) catalyzes the NAD ⁺ -dependent isomerization of glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) into inositol-1-phosphate (IMP), controlling the rate-limiting step of the inositol pathway. Previous structural studies focused on the detailed molecular mechanism, neglecting large-scale conformational changes that drive the function...

We introduce aqueous ionic liquid (IL) mixtures, specifically mixtures of 1-butyl-3-imidazoliumtetrafluoroborate (BMImBF4), with water as a minimal model of lipid bilayer membranes. Imidazolium-based ILs are known to form clustered nanoscale structures in which local inhomogeneities, micellar or lamellar structures, are formed to shield hydrophobic...

Many biological processes depend on the interactions between proteins and lipids. Accordingly, the analysis of protein–lipid complexes has become increasingly important. Native mass spectrometry is often used to identify and characterize specific protein–lipid interactions. However, it requires the transfer of the analytes into the gas phase, where...

Nucleation and growth of amyloid fibrils were found to only occur in supersaturated solutions above a critical concentration (ccrit). The biophysical meaning of ccrit remained mostly obscure, since typical low values of ccrit in the sub‐μM range hamper investigations of potential oligomeric states and their structure. Here, we investigate the parat...

The SNARE complex assembles from vesicular Synaptobrevin-2 as well as Syntaxin-1 and SNAP25 both anchored to the presynaptic membrane. It mediates fusion of synaptic vesicles with the presynaptic plasma membrane resulting in exocytosis of neurotransmitters. While the general sequence of SNARE complex formation is well-established, our knowledge on...

New technologies for purifying membrane-bound protein complexes in combination with cryo-electron microscopy (EM) have recently allowed the exploration of such complexes under near-native conditions. In particular, polymer-encapsulated nanodiscs enable the study of membrane proteins at high resolution while retaining protein-protein and protein-lip...

The neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y is commonly employed to study neuronal function and disease. This includes cells grown under standard conditions or differentiated to neuron-like cells by administration of chemical reagents such as retinoic acid (RA) or phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA). Even though SH-SY5Y cells are widely explored, a compl...

Major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) molecules present antigenic peptides to cytotoxic T cells to eliminate infected or cancerous cells. The transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) shuttles proteasomally generated peptides into the ER for MHC I loading. As central part of the peptide-loading complex (PLC), TAP is targeted b...

Synaptobrevin-2 is one of the key players of neuronal exocytosis. Together with Syntaxin-1A and SNAP25, it forms the core membrane fusion machinery that is responsible for neurotransmitter release and, therefore, signal transmission between neurons. However, in the absence of interaction partners, Synaptobrevin-2 is largely unstructured and exhibit...

“A sample preparation strategy for mass spectrometry (MS)‐based identification of phospholipids in complex lipid mixtures is introduced. The workflow includes thin‐layer chromatography (TLC), Coomassie staining and extraction of the phospholipids from the TLC plate. The number of lipid species and lipid classes was found to be increased in subseque...

The Front Cover shows a Coomassie‐stained thin‐layer chromatography plate. Separation of three lipidomes is exemplified: (i) Escherichia coli, (ii) SH‐SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, and (iii) lipids assembled in polymer nanodiscs. Subsequent identification of the lipids by mass spectrometry is indicated. More information can be found in the Full Paper b...

Introns of human transfer RNA precursors (pre-tRNAs) are excised by the tRNA splicing endonuclease TSEN in complex with the RNA kinase CLP1. Mutations in TSEN/CLP1 occur in patients with pontocerebellar hypoplasia (PCH), however, their role in the disease is unclear. Here, we show that intron excision is catalyzed by tetrameric TSEN assembled from...

Lipids play major roles in basic cellular functions. Their analysis, therefore, gained importance; however, it is complicated by the high complexity of natural lipidomes. To overcome this challenge, pre‐separation of the lipids by thin‐layer chromatography (TLC) and high‐resolution mass spectrometry (MS) are often employed. Here, we explore Coomass...

Neurodegenerative disorders are among the most common diseases in modern society. However, the molecular bases of diseases such as multiple sclerosis or Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease remain far from being fully understood. Research in this field is limited by the complex nature of native myelin and by difficulties in obtaining good in vitro model sys...

Detergents are commonly employed for solubilization and stabilization of integral membrane proteins. Their effects on the charge states of detergent-solubilized membrane proteins in native mass spectrometry measurements have previously been described. These effects can be mediated through the transmembrane region directly interacting with the deter...

Here, we for the first time establish nanodiscs with the challenging lipid composition of myelin of the peripheral or central nervous systems, respectively (PNS and CNS, both containing >40% cholesterol, which so far has been thought to be detrimental for nanodisc formation).Thus, we prove that more complex lipid model membrane systems are in gener...

In recent decades, mass spectrometry has moved more than ever before into the front line of protein-centered research. After being established at the qualitative level, the more challenging question of quantification of proteins and peptides using mass spectrometry has become a focus for further development. In this chapter, we discuss and review a...

Cross-linking, in general, involves the covalent linkage of two amino acid residues of proteins or protein complexes in close proximity. Mass spectrometry and computational analysis are then applied to identify the formed linkage and deduce structural information such as distance restraints. Quantitative cross-linking coupled with mass spectrometry...

Liposomen als Träger von Proteinen und Peptiden ermöglichen die Untersuchung von Lipidclustern, Proteinoligomeren und Protein‐Lipid‐Wechselwirkungen in der massenspektrometrischen Analyse. In ihrem Forschungsartikel (DOI: 10.1002/ange.202101242) zeigen Carla Schmidt et al., dass Proteoliposomen in der Gasphase eines Massenspektrometers dissoziieren...

Liposomes as carriers of proteins and peptides enable investigation of lipid clusters, protein oligomers and protein–lipid interactions in mass spectrometric analysis. In their Research Article (DOI: 10.1002/anie.202101242), Carla Schmidt et al. show that proteoliposomes dissociate in the gas‐phase of a mass spectrometer, releasing associated prote...

Membrane proteins are key players of the cell. Their structure and the interactions they form with their lipid environment are required to understand their function. Here we explore liposomes as membrane mimetics for mass spectrometric analysis of peripheral membrane proteins and peptides. Liposomes are advantageous over other membrane mimetics in...

Synaptic vesicles are storage organelles for neurotransmitters. They pass through a trafficking cycle and fuse with the pre-synaptic membrane when an action potential arrives at the nerve terminal. While molecular components and biophysical parameters of synaptic vesicles have been determined, our knowledge on the protein interactions in their memb...

Liposomen werden als Träger peripherer Membranproteine für die massenspektrometrische Analyse von membranassoziierten Proteinen und Peptiden verwendet. Dies ermöglicht die Untersuchung von Lipidclustern, Proteinoligomeren und Protein‐Lipid‐Interaktionen. Der Ansatz ist vielseitig, auf viele periphere Membranproteine/‐peptide anwendbar und kann mit...

Phosphoinositides interact with proteins to fulfill various functions in the cell. In many cases, they specifically recruit peripheral membrane proteins to biological membranes. The analysis of their interactions with proteins is therefore essential for understanding the underlying processes. Native mass spectrometry (MS) preserves noncovalent inte...

Cross-linking mass spectrometry (MS) has substantially matured as a method over the past 2 decades through parallel development in multiple labs, demonstrating its applicability to protein structure determination, conformation analysis, and mapping protein interactions in complex mixtures. Cross-linking MS has become a much-appreciated and routinel...

Proper base-pairing of a miRNA with its target mRNA is a key step in miRNA-mediated mRNA repression. RNA remodeling by RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) can improve access of miRNAs to their target mRNAs. The largest isoform p45 of the RBP AUF1 has previously been shown to remodel viral or AU-rich RNA elements. Here, we show that AUF1 is capable of direc...

Connexin (Cx) protein forms hemichannels and gap junctional channels, which play diverse and profound roles in human physiology and diseases. Gap junctions are arrays of intercellular channels formed by the docking of two hemichannels from adjacent cells. Each hexameric hemichannel contains the same or different Cx isoform. While homomeric Cxs form...

Introns of human transfer RNA precursors (pre-tRNAs) are excised by the tRNA splicing endonuclease TSEN in complex with the RNA kinase CLP1. Mutations in TSEN/CLP1 occur in patients with pontocerebellar hypoplasia (PCH), however, their role in the disease is unclear. Here, we show that intron excision is catalyzed by tetrameric TSEN assembled from...

Crosslinking mass spectrometry (Crosslinking MS) has substantially matured as a method over the last two decades through parallel development in multiple labs, demonstrating its applicability for protein structure determination, conformation analysis and mapping protein interactions in complex mixtures. Crosslinking MS has become a much-appreciated...

Proteins and the complexes they form with their ligands are the players of cellular action. Their function is directly linked with their structure making the structural analysis of protein‐ligand complexes essential. Classical techniques of structural biology include X‐ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and recently distin...

The activity of most proteins and protein complexes relies on the formation of defined three-dimensional structures. The analysis of these arrangements is therefore key for understanding their function and regulation in the cell. Besides the traditional structural techniques, structural MS delivers insights into the various aspects of protein struc...

The adaptive immune system of bacteria and archaea against viral DNA is based on clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) which are encoded in the host genome and translated into CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) containing single spacer sequences complementary to foreign DNA. crRNAs assemble with CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins fo...

Motivation: A variety of search engines exists for the identification of peptide spectrum matches after cross-linking mass spectrometry experiments. The resulting diversity in output formats complicates data validation and visualisation as well as exchange with collaborators, particularly from other research areas. Results: Here, we present CroC...

The BOR proteins are integral membrane transporters which mediate efflux of boron. Structural studies for two BOR family members from Arabidopsis thaliana and Saccharomyces mikitiae indicate that the proteins exist as dimers. However, it remains unclear whether dimer formation is dependent on protein-lipid interactions or whether the dimer is the f...

The multi-subunit type I CRISPR-Cas surveillance complex Cascade uses its crRNA to recognize dsDNA targets. Recognition involves DNA unwinding and base-pairing between the crRNA spacer region and a complementary DNA strand, resulting in formation of an R-loop structure. The modular Cascade architecture allows assembly of complexes containing crRNAs...

Cullin-Ring E3 Ligases (CRLs) regulate a multitude of cellular pathways through specific substrate receptors. The COP9 signalosome (CSN) deactivates CRLs by removing NEDD8 from activated Cullins. Here we present structures of the neddylated and deneddylated CSN-CRL2 complexes by combining single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) with chem...

Aims: Identifying the key components in cardiomyocyte cell cycle regulation is of relevance for the understanding of cardiac development and adaptive and maladaptive processes in the adult myocardium. BRCA1-associated protein (BRAP) has been suggested as a cytoplasmic retention factor for several proteins including Cyclin-dependent-kinase inhibito...

In recent years, lipid quantification gained importance. In most cases, this is achieved by spiking the lipid mixture with deuterated standard lipids or lipid analogues that differ in chain length when compared with the natural lipid components. Usually, conventional ESI is employed requiring sample amounts which are not always available. Here, we...

The number of publications in the field of chemical cross-linking combined with mass spectrometry (XL-MS) to derive constraints for protein three-dimensional structure modeling and to probe protein-protein interactions has increased during the last years. As the technique is now becoming routine for in vitro and in vivo applications in proteomics a...

The pseudo-atomic structural model of human pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHc) core composed of full-length E2 and E3BP components, calculated from our cryoelectron microscopy-derived density maps at 6-Å resolution, is similar to those of prokaryotic E2 structures. The spatial organization of human PDHc components as evidenced by negative-staini...

Membrane proteins are key players in the cell. Due to their hydrophobic nature they require solubilising agents such as detergents or membrane mimetics during purification and, consequently, are challenging targets in structural biology. In addition, their natural lipid environment is crucial for their structure and function further hampering their...

Mass spectrometry-based lipidomics gained importance and nowadays allows the identification of complete lipidomes. Challenging are, however, the differing properties of the diverse lipid classes. Phospholipids are the main constituents of biological membranes and, in aqueous solutions, spontaneously form lipid bilayers. They are therefore often use...

Biological membranes are selectively permeable barriers important for cell organization and compartmentalization. Their organisation strongly depends on the lipids that constitute the lipid bilayer as well as the proteins that reside in the membrane. Unravelling the organisation of biological membranes is therefore of great importance to understand...

Synaptobrevin-2 is a key player in signal transmission in neurons. It forms, together with SNAP25 and Syntaxin-1A, the neuronal soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) complex and mediates exocytosis of synaptic vesicles with the pre-synaptic membrane. While Synaptobrevin-2 is part of a four-helix bundle in thi...

Cullin-Ring E3 Ligases (CRLs) regulate a multitude of cellular pathways through specific substrate receptors. The COP9 signalosome (CSN) deactivates CRLs by removing NEDD8 (N8) from activated Cullins. The structure of stable CSN-CRL can be used to understand this mechanism of regulation. Here we present the first structures of the neddylated and de...

The number of publications in the field of chemical cross-linking combined with mass spectrometry (XL-MS) to derive constraints for protein three-dimensional structure modeling and to probe protein-protein interactions has largely increased during the last years. As the technique is now becoming routine for in vitro and in vivo applications in prot...

The identification of lipids in biological samples is gaining importance. The advent of mass spectrometry-based lipidomics accelerated the field allowing nowadays for identification and quantification of complete lipidomes. However, due to solubility difficulties and varying properties of different lipid classes, sample preparation for lipidomics i...

Proteins interact with their ligands to form active and dynamic assemblies which carry out various cellular functions. Elucidating these interactions is therefore fundamental for the understanding of cellular processes. However, many protein complexes are dynamic assemblies and are not accessible by conventional structural techniques. Mass spectrom...

The peptide-loading complex (PLC) is a transient, multisubunit membrane complex in the endoplasmic reticulum that is essential for establishing a hierarchical immune response. The PLC coordinates peptide translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum with loading and editing of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) molecules. After final p...

PROPPINs (β-propellers that bind polyphosphoinositides) are PtdIns3P and PtdIns(3,5)P2 binding autophagy related proteins. They contain two phosphatidylinositolphosphate (PIP) binding sites and a conserved FRRG motif is essential for PIP binding. Here we present the 2.0 Å resolution crystal structure of the PROPPIN Atg18 from Pichia angusta. We des...

Determining the structures of, and gaining insight into, the function of large protein complexes at the molecular or atomic level has become a key part of modern structural biology. Electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) can solve structures of highly dynamic macromolecular complexes that are not feasible with other structural techniques like X-ray of...

Chemical crosslinking can identify the neighborhood relationships between specific amino-acid residues in proteins. The interpretation of crosslinking data is typically performed using single, static atomic structures. However, proteins are dynamic, undergoing motions spanning from local fluctuations of individual residues to global motions of prot...

Accumulation of α-synuclein (αSyn) aggregates constitutes the hallmark of synucleinopathies including Parkinson's disease. However, many steps from the innocuous, monomeric αSyn toward misfolded oligomers and fibrillar species remain unclear. Here, we show that αSyn can form in solution α-helical oligomers, which are off-pathway to fibrillization,...

Significance: In this review we summarise the techniques of structural mass spectrometry often applied when studying protein-ligand complexes. We exemplify these techniques through recent examples from literature that helped in the understanding of medically relevant protein assemblies. We further provide a detailed introduction into various compu...

ATP synthases (ATPases) are enzymes that produce ATP and control the pH in the cell or cellular compartments. While highly conserved over different species, ATPases are structurally wellcharacterised but the existence and functional significance of many post-translational modifications (PTMs) is not well understood. We combined a range of mass spec...

Mass spectrometry (MS) has become an indispensable tool for investigating the architectures and dynamics of macromolecular assemblies. Here we show that covalent labeling of solvent accessible residues followed by their MS-based identification yields modeling restraints that allow mapping the location and orientation of subunits within protein asse...

Vacuolar-type ATPases (V-ATPases) are ATP-powered proton pumps involved in processes such as endocytosis, lysosomal degradation, secondary transport, TOR signalling, and osteoclast and kidney function. ATP hydrolysis in the soluble catalytic V1 region drives proton translocation through the membrane-embedded VO region via rotation of a rotor subcom...

Significance Cytochrome c oxidase is the last of the enzymes in the mitochondrial electron transport chain and represents a large integral membrane protein complex coupling conversion of molecular oxygen to water with proton translocation across the membrane. We used mass spectrometry to study cytochrome c oxidase extracted from bovine heart and pr...

β2-microglobulin (β2m), a key component of the major histocompatibility class I complex , can aggregate into fibrils with severe clinical consequences. As such, investigating structural aspects of the formation of oligomeric intermediates of β2m and their subsequent progression towards fibrillar aggregates is of great importance. However β2m aggreg...

Translation initiation in eukaryotes requires the interplay of at least ten initiation factors which interact at the different steps of this phase of gene expression. The interactions of initiation factors and related proteins are in general controlled by phosphorylation, which serves as a regulatory switch to turn protein translation on or off. To...

Translation of messenger RNA (mRNA) into proteins is key to eukaryotic gene expression and begins when initiation factor-2 (eIF2) delivers methionyl initiator tRNA (Met-tRNAi Met) to ribosomes. This first step is controlled by eIF2B mediating guanine nucleotide exchange on eIF2. We isolated eIF2 from yeast and used mass spectrometry to study the in...

The Hsp70/Hsp90 chaperone cycles depend on the coordinated interplay of several co-chaperones including Hsp40, Hop and peptidyl-prolyl isomerases such as FKBP52. Because of the many proteins involved in these interactions it is often difficult to delineate all possible combinations of subunits in the complexes formed. We employed mass spectrometry...