Protein structures
respond to changes in their chemical and physical
environment. However, studying such conformational changes is notoriously
difficult, as many structural biology techniques are also affected
by these parameters. Here, the use of photo-crosslinking, coupled
with quantitative crosslinking mass spectrometry (QCLMS), offers an
opportunity, since the reactivity of photo-crosslinkers is unaffected
by changes in environmental parameters. In this study, we introduce
a workflow combining photo-crosslinking using sulfosuccinimidyl 4,4′-azipentanoate
(sulfo-SDA) with our recently developed data-independent acquisition
(DIA)-QCLMS. This novel photo-DIA-QCLMS approach is then used to quantify
pH-dependent conformational changes in human serum albumin (HSA) and
cytochrome C by monitoring crosslink abundances as a function of pH.
Both proteins show pH-dependent conformational changes resulting in
acidic and alkaline transitions. 93% and 95% of unique residue pairs
(URP) were quantifiable across triplicates for HSA and cytochrome
C, respectively. Abundance changes of URPs and hence conformational
changes of both proteins were visualized using hierarchical clustering.
For HSA we distinguished the N–F and the N–B form from
the native conformation. In addition, we observed for cytochrome C
acidic and basic conformations. In conclusion, our photo-DIA-QCLMS
approach distinguished pH-dependent conformers of both proteins.