Using ion mobility MS to understand drug:protein interactions

Eyers CE, Vonderach M, Ferries S, Jeacock K, Eyers PA (2018). Understanding protein-drug interactions using ion mobility-mass spectrometry. Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2018 Jan 10;42:167-176. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2017.12.013.

Ion mobility–mass spectrometry (IM–MS) is an important addition to the analytical toolbox for the structural evaluation of proteins, and is enhancing many areas of biophysical analysis. Disease-associated proteins, including enzymes such as protein kinases, transcription factors exemplified by p53, and intrinsically disordered proteins, including those prone to aggregation, are all amenable to structural analysis by IM–MS. In this review we discuss how this powerful technique can be used to understand protein conformational dynamics and aggregation pathways, and in particular, the effect that small molecules, including clinically-relevant drugs, play in these processes. We also present examples of how IM–MS can be used as a relatively rapid screening strategy to evaluate the mechanisms and conformation-driven aspects of protein:ligand interactions.