Author(s)

  • Mujia Li (Presenting Author) | Institute for Surgical Pathology | Breisacher Strasse 115a, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
  • Larissa Meyer | Institute for Surgical Pathology | Breisacher Strasse 115a, 79106, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
  • Nadine Meier | Institute for Surgical Pathology | Breisacher Strasse 115a, 79106, Freiburg, Germany
  • Jannik Witte | Institute for Surgical Pathology | Breisacher Strasse 115a, 79106, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
  • Maximilian Maldacker | Institute for Surgical Pathology | Breisacher Strasse 115a, 79106, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
  • Adrianna Seredynska | Institute for Surgical Pathology | Breisacher Strasse 115a, 79106, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
  • Julia Schueler | Therapeutic Area Lead Oncology, Charles River Laboratories Germany GmbH | Am Flughafen 12, 79108, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
  • Oliver Schilling | Institute for Surgical Pathology | Breisacher Strasse 115a, 79106, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
  • Melanie Christine Föll | Institute for Surgical Pathology | Breisacher Strasse 115a, 79106, Freiburg, Germany

Abstract

Rationale:
In spatial proteomics, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) imaging enables rapid and cost-effective peptide measurements. Yet, in situ peptide identification remains challenging. Therefore, this study aims to integrate the trapped ion mobility spectrometry (TIMS)–based parallel accumulation-serial fragmentation (PASEF) into MALDI imaging of tryptic peptides to enable multiplexed MS/MS imaging.
Methods:
An initial MALDI TIMS MS1 survey measurement was performed, followed by a manual generation of a precursor list containing mass over charge values and ion mobility windows. Using iprm-PASEF, multiplexed MALDI MS/MS imaging is enabled.
Results:
This study presents the first multiplexed MALDI TIMS MS/MS imaging (iprm-PASEF) of tryptic peptides. Its applicability was showcased on two histomorphologically distinct tissue specimens in a four-plex and five-plex setup. Precursors were successfully identified by the search engine MASCOT in one single MALDI imaging experiment for each respective tissue. Peptide identifications were corroborated by liquid–chromatography tandem mass spectrometry experiments and fragment colocalization analyses.
Conclusions:
In this study, we present a novel pipeline, based on iprm-PASEF, that allows the multiplexed and spatial identification of tryptic peptides in MALDI imaging. Hence, it marks a first step towards the integration of MALDI imaging into the emerging field of spatial proteomics.