Proteomic characterization of Deer Horn Glue (Cervus) by 4D label-free LC-MS/MS for the discovery of RANKL-targeting candidate peptides

ABSTRACT: Deer Horn Glue (Lu Jiao Jiao), a traditional gelatinous animal medicine prepared from deer antler, was characterized by LC-MS/MS-based proteomics to define its protein composition and to discover candidate bioactive peptides targeting RANKL (receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand), a key therapeutic target in postmenopausal osteoporosis. One Deer Horn Glue sample was subjected to protein extraction, filter-aided sample preparation (FASP) tryptic digestion, and analysis on an Evosep One system coupled to a Bruker timsTOF Pro mass spectrometer operating in PASEF-DDA mode. Database searching with MaxQuant 1.6.14.0 against the UniProt Cervus protein database identified 707 proteins. The identified proteins were then subjected to in silico tryptic digestion, and the resulting peptides were sequentially filtered by molecular mass, toxicity, predicted activity, allergenicity, hemolytic potential, and water solubility. RANKL-targeted structural screening was performed using HPEPDOCK and AutoDock Vina, followed by AlphaFold 3 complex prediction, 200-ns molecular dynamics simulations, MM/GBSA binding-energy calculations, and computational alanine scanning, which prioritized five candidate peptides with predicted RANKL-binding potential. The dataset provides the raw mass-spectrometry evidence supporting these identifications.

INSTRUMENT(S):

ORGANISM(S): Cervus

TISSUE(S): Antler

SUBMITTER: zh fan  

LAB HEAD: Ping Wang

PROVIDER: PXD083344 | Pride | 2026-10-05

REPOSITORIES: Pride