Hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry for studying protein structure and dynamics

Hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) mass spectrometry (MS) has become a key technique for monitoring structural and dynamic aspects of proteins in solution. This approach relies on the fact that exposure of a protein to D(2)O induces rapid amide H → D exchange in disordered regions that lack stable hydrogen-bonding. Tightly folded elements are much more protected from HDX, resulting in slow isotope exchange that is mediated by the structural dynamics ("breathing motions") of the protein. MS-based peptide mapping is a well established technique for measuring the mass shifts of individual protein segments. This tutorial review briefly discusses basic fundamentals of HDX/MS, before highlighting a number of recent…