Proteomic Analysis of Temperature-Dependent Changes in Stored UHT Milk

Molecular changes in milk proteins during storage of UHT-treated milk have been investigated using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) coupled to MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. UHT-treated samples were stored at three cliFferent temperatures, 4 degrees C, 28 degrees C, and 40 degrees C, for two months. Three main changes could be observed on 2-DE gels following storage. They were (1) the appearance of diffuse staining regions above the position of the monomeric caseins caused by nondisulfide cross-linking of alpha and beta-caseins; (2) the appearance of additional acidic forms of proteins, predominantly of alpha(s1)-casein, caused by deamidation; and (3) the appearance of stacked spots caused by lactosylation of whey proteins. The extent of the changes increased with increased storage temperature. Mass spectrometric analysis of in-gel tryptic digests showed that the crosslinked proteins were dominated by alpha(S1)-casein, but a heterogeneous population of cross-linked forms with alpha(S2)-casein and beta-casein was also observed. Tandem MS analysis was used to confirm deamidation of N(129) in alpha(S1)-casein. MS analysis of the stacked spots reyealed lactosylation of 9/15 lysines in beta-lactoglobulin and 8/12 lysines in alpha-lactalbumin. More extensive analysis will be required to confirm the nature of the cross-links and additional deamidation sites in alpha(S1)-casein as the highly phosphorylated nature of the caseins makes them challenging prospects for MS analysis.