UNiquant, a program for quantitative proteomics analysis using stable isotope labeling

J Proteome Res. 2011 Mar 4;10(3):1228-37. doi: 10.1021/pr1010058. Epub 2011 Jan 25.

Abstract

Stable isotope labeling (SIL) methods coupled with nanoscale liquid chromatography and high resolution tandem mass spectrometry are increasingly useful for elucidation of the proteome-wide differences between multiple biological samples. Development of more effective programs for the sensitive identification of peptide pairs and accurate measurement of the relative peptide/protein abundance are essential for quantitative proteomic analysis. We developed and evaluated the performance of a new program, termed UNiquant, for analyzing quantitative proteomics data using stable isotope labeling. UNiquant was compared with two other programs, MaxQuant and Mascot Distiller, using SILAC-labeled complex proteome mixtures having either known or unknown heavy/light ratios. For the SILAC-labeled Jeko-1 cell proteome digests with known heavy/light ratios (H/L = 1:1, 1:5, and 1:10), UNiquant quantified a similar number of peptide pairs as MaxQuant for the H/L = 1:1 and 1:5 mixtures. In addition, UNiquant quantified significantly more peptides than MaxQuant and Mascot Distiller in the H/L = 1:10 mixtures. UNiquant accurately measured relative peptide/protein abundance without the need for postmeasurement normalization of peptide ratios, which is required by the other programs.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Chromatography, Liquid / methods
  • Humans
  • Isotope Labeling / methods*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Peptides / analysis*
  • Peptides / genetics
  • Proteins / analysis*
  • Proteins / genetics
  • Proteome / analysis
  • Proteomics / methods*
  • Software
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry / methods

Substances

  • Peptides
  • Proteins
  • Proteome