Phosphopeptide modification and enrichment by oxidation-reduction condensation

Many cellular processes are regulated by the reversible phosphorylation of proteins. Despite the importance of monitoring protein phosphorylation, available methods to modify and enrich phosphopeptides from complex mixtures for subsequent mass spectrometric analysis are challenging. Here the oxidation -reduction condensation was shown for the first time to directly modify the phosphate of phosphopeptides and phosphoproteins. By coupling with a solid-phase resin, the oxidation-reduction condensation was validated for capture and recovery of phosphoserine-, phosphothreonine, and phosphotyrosine-containing peptides from a peptide mixture. In addition, full-length phosphoproteins or phosphopeptides from a protein digestion were captured and recovered using the oxidation-reduction condensation, demonstrating its compatibility with protein mixtures. The strategy modifies all phosphopeptides, maintains high chemical selectivity, requires only two steps, and relies on commercially available reagents, suggesting that the oxidation-reduction condensation has the potential to enhance phosphopeptide enrichment methods and encourage development of efficient biochemical and proteomics tools targeting phosphorylation.