This is a new application for a ThermoFinnigan Proteomex LTQ LC/MS/MS system for the Proteomics Laboratory of the Cardiovascular Research Laboratories (CVRL) in the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). ? ? The CVRL has two major research foci: myocardial ischemia and atherosclerosis. These two inter-related pathological conditions constitute the basis of ischemic heart disease, the leading cause of death in the Western World. A greater understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of atherosclerosis and myocardial ischemia will have a dramatic impact on human health, and many studies in the CVRL at UCLA depend on mass spectrometry to help provide this insight. ? ? The Major User Group of this application is a critical mass of funded investigators (3 Program Project Grants, including 13 PPG Projects/Cores, 20 R01 awards, and 5 additional grants from the NIH are held by members of the Major User Group) with individual specific research aims that require proteomic mass spectrometry for their completion. All of these Major Users have experience with mass spectrometry, however, none of the funded applications have budget allocated to purchase a mass spectrometer. At present, the CVRL (including the Department of Medicine/Division of Cardiology and the Department of Physiology) does not own a mass spectrometer, and the available nearby resources at UCLA are out-dated and/or access to these instruments is limited to a degree that prohibits progression of experiments. ? ? The Major User Group is composed of 17 investigators in 12 projects focused on myocardial ischemia or atherosclerosis.
The aims i n these projects require the following proteomic mass spectrometry capabilities: (1) high sensitivity and accurate mass detection and sequencing of low abundance peptides; (2) post-translational modification determination (especially phosphorylation); (3) integrated two-dimensional liquid chromatography separation of peptides prior to MS; and (4) database searching of mass spectral data. The Proteomex-LTQ from ThermoFinnigan is an LC/MS/MS system that addresses these needs superbly. This instrument will make possible the progression of projects here at the CVRL and thereby contribute significantly to our overall mission to elucidate basic mechanisms of myocardial ischemia and atherosclerosis. ? ?
