Mass spectrometric map of neuropeptide expression in Ascaris suum

A mass spectrometric method was used for the localization and sequence characterization of peptides in the nervous system of the parasitic nematode Ascaris suum. Mass spectrometric techniques utilizing MALDI-TOF, MALDI-TOF/TOF, and MALDI-FT instruments were combined with in situ chemical derivatization to examine the expression of known and putative neuropeptides in the A. suum nervous system. This first attempt at peptidomic characterization in A. suum mapped the expression of 39 neuropeptides, 17 of which are considered to be novel and whose expression has not been previously reported. These analyses also revealed that the peptide expression profile is unique to each nervous structure and that the majority of peptides observed belong to the RFamide family of neuropeptides. In addition, four new peptide sequences with a shared C-terminal PNFLRFamide motif are proposed based on in situ sequencing with mass spectrometry.