Short communication: Application of proteomics for characterization of caseinomacropeptide isoforms before and after...

Caseinomacropeptide (CMP) is an important polypeptide found in cheese whey that has various biological activities and functional properties. Because sialylations play an important role in the functional properties of CMP, the aim of the present work was to characterize CMP isoform heterogeneity in a commercial glycosylated CMP (gCMP) isolate using liquid chromatography- and gel-based proteomics before and after desialidation. Using 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DGE), we observed a shift in isoelectric point (pI) after enzymatic desialidation, indicating that sialylated gCMP were located at pI 3.0 to 3.1, but desialylated gCMP had repositioned to pI 3.7 to 3.9. We used liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy (LC-ESI/MS) for further analysis of the glycan chains of gCMP. In total, we identified 19 CMP isoforms, of which 13 were glycosylated and 6 were nonglycosylated. We also detected 3 genetic variants (A, B, and E), with up to 3 glycosylations attached per gCMP. Further, we identified up to 4 isomers, reflecting different sites of glycosylation in the peptide backbone of these isoforms. The dominating gCMP isoform of genetic variant E appeared to contain 4 N-acetyl-neuraminic acid (NeuAc) residues, whereas the dominating gCMP isoforms of variants A and B appeared to contain 2 NeuAc. The identification revealed conversions of isoforms containing different combinations of genetic variants and degrees of glycosylation, sialylation, and phosphorylation to various desialylated counter-isoforms. The content of sialylated gCMP relative to the total CMP content was 37% (wt/wt), which decreased to 1.5% after sialidase treatment, indicating 96% effectivity of the desialidation. This approach can be valuable for future functionality studies specifically addressing the importance of NeuAc.