Analysis of Viral Spike Protein N-Glycosylation Using Ultraviolet Photodissociation Mass Spectrometry.

Characterization of protein glycosylation by tandem mass spectrometry remains challenging owing to the vast diversity of oligosaccharides bound to proteins, the variation in monosaccharide linkage patterns, and the lability of the linkage between the glycan and protein. Here, we have adapted an HCD-triggered-ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) approach for the simultaneous localization of glycosites and full characterization of both glycan compositions and intersaccharide linkages, the latter provided by extensive cross-ring cleavages enabled by UVPD. The method is applied to study glycan compositions based on analysis of glycopeptides from proteolytic digestion of recombinant human coronaviruse spike proteins from SARS-CoV-2 and HKU1. UVPD reveals unique intersaccharide linkage information and is leveraged to localize N-linked glycoforms with confidence.