Wanted and wanting: antibody against methionine sulfoxide.

Methionine residues in protein can be oxidized by reactive oxygen or nitrogen species to generate methionine sulfoxide. This covalent modification has been implicated in processes ranging from normal cell signaling to neurodegenerative diseases. A general method for detecting methionine sulfoxide in proteins would be of great value in studying these processes, but development of a chemical or immunochemical technique has been elusive. Recently, an antiserum raised against an oxidized corn protein, DZS18, was reported to be specific for methionine sulfoxide in proteins (Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 485:35-40; 2009). However, data included in that report indicate that the antiserum is not specific. Utilizing well-characterized native and methionine-oxidized glutamine synthetase and aprotinin, we confirm that the antiserum does not possess specificity for methionine sulfoxide.