From a molecular perspective, enactors of function in biology are intact proteins that can be variably modified at the genetic, transcriptional, or post-translational level. Over the past 30 years, mass spectrometry (MS) has become a powerful method for the analysis of proteomes. Prevailing bottom-up proteomics operates at the level of the peptide, leading to issues with protein inference, connectivity, and incomplete sequence/modification information. Top-down proteomics (TDP), alternatively, applies MS at the proteoform level to analyze intact proteins with diverse sources of intramolecular complexity preserved during analysis. Fortunately, advances in prefractionation workflows, MS instrumentation, and dissociation methods for whole-protein ions have helped TDP emerge as an accessible and potentially disruptive modality with increasingly translational value. In this review, we discuss technical and conceptual advances in TDP, along with the growing power of proteoform-resolved measurements in clinical and translational research.

One gene can give rise to many functionally distinct proteoforms, each of which has a characteristic molecular mass. Top-down mass spectrometry enables the analysis of intact proteins and proteoforms. Here members of the Consortium for Top-Down Proteomics provide a decision tree that guides researchers to robust protocols for mass analysis of intact proteins (antibodies, membrane proteins and others) from mixtures of varying complexity. We also present cross-platform analytical benchmarks using a protein standard sample, to allow users to gauge their proficiency.

The rapid growth of approved biotherapeutics, e.g., monoclonal antibodies or immunoglobulins G (IgGs), demands improved techniques for their quality control. Traditionally, proteolysis-based bottom-up mass spectrometry (MS) has been employed. However, the long, multistep sample preparation protocols required for bottom-up MS are known to potentially introduce artifacts in the original sample. For this reason, a top-down MS approach would be preferable. The current performance of top-down MS of intact monoclonal IgGs, though, enables reaching only up to ∼30% sequence coverage, with incomplete sequencing of the complementarity determining regions which are fundamental for IgG's antigen binding. Here, we describe a middle-down MS protocol based on the use of immunoglobulin G-degrading enzyme of Streptococcus pyogenes (IdeS), which is capable of digesting IgGs in only 30 min. After chemical reduction, the obtained ∼25 kDa proteolytic fragments were analyzed by reversed phase liquid chromatography (LC) coupled online with an electron transfer dissociation (ETD)-enabled hybrid Orbitrap Fourier transform mass spectrometer (Orbitrap Elite FTMS). Upon optimization of ETD and product ion transfer parameters, results show that up to ∼50% sequence coverage for selected IgG fragments is reached in a single LC run and up to ∼70% when data obtained by distinct LC-MS runs are averaged. Importantly, we demonstrate the potential of this middle-down approach in the identification of oxidized methionine residues. The described approach shows a particular potential for the analysis of IgG mixtures.

This tutorial review describes the principles and practices of electron capture and transfer dissociation (ECD/ETD or ExD) mass spectrometry (MS) employed for peptide and protein structure analysis. ExD MS relies on interactions between gas phase peptide or protein ions carrying multiple positive charges with either free low-energy (~1 eV) electrons (ECD), or with reagent radical anions possessing an electron available for transfer (ETD). As a result of recent implementation on sensitive, high resolution, high mass accuracy, and liquid chromatography timescale-compatible mass spectrometers, ExD, more specifically, ETD MS has received particular interest in life science research. In addition to describing the fundamental aspects of ExD radical ion chemistry, this tutorial provides practical guidelines for peptide de novo sequencing with ExD MS, as well as reviews some of the current capabilities and limitations of these techniques. The merits of ExD MS are discussed primarily within the context of life science research.

Targeted top-down (TD) and middle-down (MD) mass spectrometry (MS) offer reduced sample manipulation during protein analysis, limiting the risk of introducing artifactual modifications to better capture sequence information on the proteoforms present. This provides some advantages when characterizing biotherapeutic molecules such as monoclonal antibodies, particularly for the class of biosimilars. Here, we describe the results obtained analyzing a monoclonal IgG1, either in its ∼150 kDa intact form or after highly specific digestions yielding ∼25 and ∼50 kDa subunits, using an Orbitrap mass spectrometer on a liquid chromatography (LC) time scale with fragmentation from ion-photon, ion-ion, and ion-neutral interactions. Ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) used a new 213 nm solid-state laser. Alternatively, we applied high-capacity electron-transfer dissociation (ETD HD), alone or in combination with higher energy collisional dissociation (EThcD). Notably, we verify the degree of complementarity of these ion activation methods, with the combination of 213 nm UVPD and ETD HD producing a new record sequence coverage of ∼40% for TD MS experiments. The addition of EThcD for the >25 kDa products from MD strategies generated up to 90% of complete sequence information in six LC runs. Importantly, we determined an optimal signal-to-noise threshold for fragment ion deconvolution to suppress false positives yet maximize sequence coverage and implemented a systematic validation of this process using the new software TDValidator. This rigorous data analysis should elevate confidence for assignment of dense MS spectra and represents a purposeful step toward the application of TD and MD MS for deep sequencing of monoclonal antibodies.