Using mass spectrometry to study the mechanism of mycobacterium avium infection at the University of York
A research group in the department of chemistry at the University of York is using an Applied Biosystems 4700 proteomics analyser with Tof/Tof optics and an API Qstar Pulsar hybrid LC/MS/MS system to study the cell surface glycoproteins of Mycobacterium avium.
Jane Thomas-Oates explained: "Mycobacterial infections have had a resurgence in the last few years and, in collaboration with Otto Holst at the Research Center in Borstel, Germany, we are working to understand how Mycobacterium avium invades the macrophages in which it lives.
The M avium surface is covered in a capsule which contains proteins, many of which are glycoproteins, and we use the API Qstar System and the 4700 proteomics analyser to analyse the structure of both the carbohydrate moieties, and to identify the polypeptides.
We hope this will lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms of macrophage invasion." This work is supported by an RSC Analytical studentship and by the British Council and the DAAD.
