Preparation of recombinant peptides with site- and degree-specific lysine¹³C-methylation

Lysine methylation is an important post-translational modification that affects protein function; for example, the transcriptional activity of the p53 tumor suppressor protein. To facilitate structural characterization of complexes involving proteins and methylated targets by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we devised a simple method for preparing recombinant ¹⁵N/¹³C-enriched peptides with a ¹³C-methyl- labeled methylated lysine analogue. The method, which relies on the synthesis of ¹³C-enriched alkylating agents, was applied to the production of 15-residue p53 peptides variously methylated at lysine analogue 370. The peptides were used to probe the methylation state-dependent interactions of mono, di, and trimethylated p53 with three different proteins.