Proteomic analysis of protein posttranslational modifications by mass spectrometry

Abstract

The addition of posttranslational modifications (PTMs) to proteins is an influential mechanism to temporally control protein function and ultimately regulate entire cellular processes. Most PTMs are present at low stoichiometry and abundance, which limits their detection when analyzing whole cell lysates. PTM purification methods are thus required to comprehensively characterize the presence and dynamics of PTMs using mass spectrometry-based proteomics approaches. Here we describe several of the most influential PTMs and discuss the fundamentals of proteomics experiments and PTM purification methods.