Glutathione (GSH) is the archetypal antioxidant, and plays a central role in the protection of the ocular lens from cataract formation. High levels of GSH are maintained in the transparent lens, but with advancing age, GSH levels fall in the lens nucleus relative to outer cortical cells, thereby exposing the nucleus of the lens to the damaging effects of oxygen radicals, which ultimately leads to age-related nuclear (ARN) cataract. Under normal conditions, GSH also forms endogenous conjugates to detoxify the lens of reactive cellular metabolites and to maintain cell homeostasis. Due to the intrinsic gradient of lens fibre cell age, the lens contains distinct regions with different metabolic requirements for GSH. To investigate the impact of fibre cell and lens aging on the varied roles that GSH plays in the lens, we have utilised high mass resolution MALDI mass spectrometry profiling and imaging analysis of lens tissue sections. High Dynamic Range (HDR)-MALDI FTICR mass spectrometry was used as an initial screening method to detect regional differences in lens metabolites from normal bovine lenses and in those subjected to hyperbaric oxygen as a model of lens aging. Subsequent MALDI imaging analysis was used to spatially map GSH and its endogenous conjugates throughout all lenses. Accurate mass measurement by MALDI FTICR analysis and LC-MS/MS mass spectrometry of lens region homogenates were subsequently used to identify endogenous GSH conjugates. While the distribution and relative abundance of GSH-related metabolic intermediates involved in detoxification pathways remained relatively unchanged upon HBO treatment, those involved in its antioxidant function were altered under conditions of oxidative stress. For example, reduced glutathione levels were decreased in the lens cortex while oxidised glutathione levels were elevated in the lens outer cortex upon HBO treatment. Interestingly, cysteineglutathione disulfide, was detected in the inner cortex of the normal lens, but was greatly decreased in the HBO-treated lenses. These results contribute to our understanding of the multiple roles that GSH plays in maintenance of lens transparency and in the age-related metabolic changes that lead to lens cataract formation.

The safety of oats for people with celiac disease remains unresolved. While oats have attractive nutritional properties that can improve the quality and palatability of the restrictive, low fiber gluten-free diet, rigorous feeding studies to address their safety in celiac disease are needed. Assessing the oat prolamin proteins (avenins) in isolation and controlling for gluten contamination and other oat components such as fiber that can cause non-specific effects and symptoms is crucial. Further, the avenin should contain all reported immunogenic T cell epitopes, and be deliverable at a dose that enables biological responses to be correlated with clinical effects. To date, isolation of a purified food-grade avenin in sufficient quantities for feeding studies has not been feasible. Here, we report a new gluten isolation technique that enabled 2 kg of avenin to be extracted from 400 kg of wheat-free oats under rigorous gluten-free and food grade conditions. The extract consisted of 85% protein of which 96% of the protein was avenin. The concentration of starch (1.8% dry weight), β-glucan (0.2% dry weight), and free sugars (1.8% dry weight) were all low in the final avenin preparation. Other sugars including oligosaccharides, small fructans, and other complex sugars were also low at 2.8% dry weight. Liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis of the proteins in these preparations showed they consisted only of oat proteins and were uncontaminated by gluten containing cereals including wheat, barley or rye. Proteomic analysis of the avenin enriched samples detected more avenin subtypes and fewer other proteins compared to samples obtained using other extraction procedures. The identified proteins represented five main groups, four containing known immune-stimulatory avenin peptides. All five groups were identified in the 50% (v/v) ethanol extract however the group harboring the epitope DQ2.5-ave-1b was less represented. The avenin-enriched protein fractions were quantitatively collected by reversed phase HPLC and analyzed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Three reverse phase HPLC peaks, representing ~40% of the protein content, were enriched in proteins containing DQ2.5-ave-1a epitope. The resultant high quality avenin will facilitate controlled and definitive feeding studies to establish the safety of oat consumption by people with celiac disease.

Lens crystallin proteins make up 90% of expressed proteins in the ocular lens and are primarily responsible for maintaining lens transparency and establishing the gradient of refractive index necessary for proper focusing of images onto the retina. Agerelated modifications to lens crystallins have been linked to insolubilization and cataractogenesis in human lenses. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) has been shown to provide spatial maps of such age-related modifications. Previous work demonstrated that, under standard protein IMS conditions, α-crystallin signals dominated the mass spectrum and agerelated modifications to α-crystallins could be mapped. In the current study, a new sample preparation method was optimized to allow imaging of βand γ-crystallins in ocular lens tissue. Acquired images showed that γ-crystallins were localized predominately in the lens nucleus whereas β-crystallins were primarily localized to the lens cortex. Age-related modifications such as truncation, acetylation, and carbamylation were identified and spatially mapped. Protein identifications were determined by top-down proteomics analysis of lens proteins extracted from tissue sections and analyzed by LC-MS/MS with electron transfer dissociation. This new sample preparation method combined with the standard method allows the major lens crystallins to be mapped by MALDI IMS.

This system may serve as a model to study changes that occur with advanced aging rather than nuclear cataract formation per se.

Barley ( Hordeum vulgare ) is the fourth most cultivated crop in the world in terms of production volume, and it is also the most important raw material of the malting and brewing industries. Barley belongs to the grass (Poaceae) family and plays an important role in food security and food safety for both humans and livestock. With the global population set to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, but with less available and/or suitable land for agriculture, the use of biotechnology tools in breeding programs are of considerable importance in the quest to meet the growing food gap. Proteomics as a member of the “omics” technologies has become popular for the investigation of proteins in cereal crops and particularly barley and its related products such as malt and beer. This technology has been applied to study how proteins in barley respond to adverse environmental conditions including abiotic and/or biotic stresses, how they are impacted during food processing including malting and brewing, and the presence of proteins implicated in celiac disease. Moreover, proteomics can be used in the future to inform breeding programs that aim to enhance the nutritional value and broaden the application of this crop in new food and beverage products. Mass spectrometry analysis is a valuable tool that, along with genomics and transcriptomics, can inform plant breeding strategies that aim to produce superior barley varieties. In this review, recent studies employing both qualitative and quantitative mass spectrometry approaches are explored with a focus on their application in cultivation, manufacturing, processing, quality, and the safety of barley and its related products.