Fluorosulfate as a Latent Sulfate in Peptides and Proteins
Chao Liu, Xueyi Liu, Mi Zhou, Chaoshuang Xia, Yuhan Lyu, Qianni Peng, Chintan Soni, Zefeng Zhou, Qiwen Su, Yujia Wu, Eranthie Weerapana, Jianmin Gao, Abhishek Chatterjee, Cheng Lin, Jia Niu
Abstract
Sulfation widely exists in the eukaryotic proteome. However, understanding the biological functions of sulfation in peptides and proteins has been hampered by the lack of methods to control its spatial or temporal distribution in the proteome. Herein, we report that fluorosulfate can serve as a latent precursor of sulfate in peptides and proteins, which can be efficiently converted to sulfate by hydroxamic acid reagents under physiologically relevant conditions. Photocaging the hydroxamic acid reagents further allowed for the light-controlled activation of functional sulfopeptides. This work provides a valuable tool for probing the functional roles of sulfation in peptides and proteins.