METHODS FOR IDENTIFYING PROTEINS THAT BIND LIGANDS

摘要

Provided herein are methods of identifying a protein capable of binding a ligand, the method comprising: (a) contacting the ligand with two or more samples comprising a plurality of proteins in a solution; (b) separating the proteins bound to the ligand ("bound proteins") from the proteins that are not bound to the ligand ("unbound proteins") in each sample; (c) denaturing and digesting the bound proteins to form a plurality of peptides in each sample; (d) quantifying a plurality of molecular features contained in the plurality of peptides in each sample, wherein the molecular features are defined as having a mass to charge ratio, retention time, and peak intensity as measured by mass spectrometry; and (e) ranking the molecular features that exhibit a statistically significant difference in quantity between the samples contacted with the ligand and a sample that is not contacted with the ligand ("statistically significant molecular feature").