Detection of glutathione reductase after electrophoresis on native or sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels

Commercial glutathione reductase (GR) from spinach and yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) were stained on 7.5% native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) gels or 15% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-PAGE gels with or without further purification by a 2',5'-ADP Sepharose 4B affinity column. For SDS-PAGE gels, the SDS was removed first by washing twice with 25% isopropanol in 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.9) for 10 min. The gel was then dipped in a 50 mM Tris-HCl buffer (pH 7.9) containing 4.0 mM oxidized glutathione (GSSG), 1.5 mM NADPH, and 2 mM 5,5'-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) (DTNB) for 20 min. The GR activity was negatively stained in the dark by a solution containing 1.2 mM 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and 1.6 mM phenazine methosulfate (PMS) for 5-10 min. The contrast between the clear zone of GR activity and the purple background was found in both native and SDS-PAGE gels. This negative staining method can detect GR as little as 0.064 units and 0.0032 units, respectively, for spinach and yeast sources. Under reduced SDS-PAGE gels, the GR activity band located on 72 kDa for spinach and 51 kDa for yeast. This fast and sensitive method could be used during enzyme purification and for characterization of GR from different sources under different physiological stages or conditions.     

A systematic investigation into the recovery of radioactively labeled proteins from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels

We report the results of a systematic investigation designed to optimize a method for quantifying radioactivity in proteins in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. The method involves dissolving appropriately sized pieces of gel in hydrogen peroxide and heating to 70 degrees C overnight followed by liquid scintillation counting. H(2)O(2) had no effect on the count rates of [(14)C]bovine serum albumin (BSA) when counted in a conventional liquid scintillation system, and the count rates remained stable for several days. Temperatures below 70 degrees C resulted in incomplete extraction of radioactivity from gels containing [(14)C]BSA, but there was also a significant reduction in count rates in samples incubated at 80 degrees C. At 70 degrees C recovery was not affected by the amount of sample loaded onto the gel or by the staining procedure (Coomassie Brilliant Blue or SYPRO Ruby). Recoveries were in the range of 89-94%, and the coefficient of variation for five replicate samples was 5-10%. This method offers a reliable way of measuring the amount of radioactivity in proteins that have been separated by electrophoresis. It may be useful, for example, in quantitative metabolic labeling experiments when it is necessary to know precisely how much tracer has been incorporated into a particular protein.     

Background-free,fast protein staining in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel using counterion dyes,zincon and ethyl violet

A background-free, fast protein staining method in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using an acidic dye, zincon (ZC) and a basic dye, ethyl violet (EV) is described. It is based on the counterion dye staining technique that employs two oppositely charged dyes to form an ion-pair complex in staining solution. The selective binding of free dye molecules to proteins in acidic solution produces bluish violet-colored bands. It is a rapid and end-point staining procedure, involving only fixing and staining steps that are completed in 1-1.5 h. The detection limit of this method is 8-15 ng of protein that is comparable to the sensitivity of the colloidal Coomassie Brilliant Blue G (CBBG) stain. Due to its sensitivity and speed, this stain may be more practical than any other dye-based stains for routine laboratory purposes.     

Electrophoretic behavior of streptavidin complexed to a biotinylated probe: a functional screening assay for biotin-binding proteins

The biotin-binding protein streptavidin exhibits a high stability against thermal denaturation, especially when complexed to biotin. Herein we show that, in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), streptavidin is stabilized at high temperature in the presence of biotinylated fluorescent probes, such as biotin-4-fluorescein, which is incorporated within the binding pocket. In nondenaturing SDS-PAGE, streptavidin is detectable when complexed with biotin-4-fluorescein using a UV-transilluminator. Using biotin-4-fluorescein, the detection limit of streptavidin lies in the same range as with Coomassie blue staining. The functionality of streptavidin mutants can readily be assessed from crude bacterial extracts using biotin-4-fluorescein as a probe in nondenaturing SDS-PAGE.     

High-throughput separation of DNA and proteins by three-dimensional geometry gel electrophoresis: feasibility studies

We report a novel separation method that is applicable to both DNA and protein samples, based on electrophoresis in a three-dimensional (3-D) geometry. In contrast to conventional electrophoresis, samples are applied in a two-dimensional, planar array to one of the surfaces of a 3-D geometry separation medium. Loading onto a plane results in a very high sample capacity. Sample migration and separation occur along the third spatial dimension, which is perpendicular to the loading plane. The key problem of electrophoresis in a 3-D geometry separation setup is that temperature gradients are caused by Joule's heat, affecting the electrical conductivity and viscosity of the separation medium. A means of achieving straight sample migration under these circumstances is to force heat flow through the separation medium parallel to the axis of sample migration. This can be done by dissipating the heat via the electrode sides of the gel and blocking any other heat transfer. The separation of DNA and proteins by this method has been tested using agarose gel electrophoresis, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Data were acquired off-line by conventional staining methods as well as on-line by detection of laser-induced fluorescence. We describe how to excise samples from the separation medium for preparative purposes. Possible unique applications of this 3-D geometry electrophoresis separation method are also discussed.     

银杏种子糖蛋白的SDS-PAGE分离及N-糖链的质谱分析

利用十二烷基硫酸钠聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(SDS-PAGE)分离了银杏种子中的糖蛋白组分, 进一步用氨水催化释放N-糖链, 并采用电喷雾离子质谱(ESI-MS)及在线液相色谱-质谱联用(LC-UV-MS/MS²)等技术对胶条上释放的N-糖链进行了定性定量分析. 结果表明, 从银杏种子中分离得到11种糖蛋白, 共检测到11条N-糖链, 包括高甘露糖型(4.88%)和复杂型(95.12%) 2种类型, 其中分子量为21000, 36000和50000的糖蛋白所释放的核心α-1,3-岩藻糖和β-1,2-木糖修饰的N-糖链所占比率较高, 分别为68.23%, 64.37%和75.09%. 本研究对进一步研究银杏糖蛋白功能具有重要意义.     

Improved in-gel approaches to generate peptide maps of integral membrane proteins with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

This paper reports studies of in-gel digestion procedures to generate MALDI-MS peptide maps of integral membrane proteins. The methods were developed for the membrane domain of the mannitol permease of E. coli. In-gel digestion of this domain with trypsin, followed by extraction of the peptides from the gel, yields only 44% sequence coverage. Since lysines and arginines are seldomly found in the membrane-spanning regions, complete tryptic cleavage will generate large hydrophobic fragments, many of which are poorly soluble and most likely contribute to the low sequence coverage. Addition of the detergent octyl-beta-glucopyranoside (OBG), at 0.1% concentration, to the extraction solvent increases the total number of peptides detected to at least 85% of the total protein sequence. OBG facilitates the recovery of hydrophobic peptides when they are SpeedVac dried during the extraction procedure. Many of the newly recovered peptides are partial cleavage products. This seems to be advantageous since it generates hydrophobic fragments with a hydrophilic solubilizing part. In-gel CNBr cleavage resulted in 5-10-fold more intense spectra, 83% sequence coverage, fully cleaved fragments and no effect of OBG. In contrast to tryptic cleavage sites, the CNBr cleavage sites are found in transmembrane segments; cleavage at these sites generates smaller hydrophobic fragments, which are more soluble and do not need OBG. With the results of both cleavages, a complete sequence coverage of the membrane domain of the mannitol permease of E. coli is obtained without the necessity of using HPLC separation. The protocols were applied to two other integral membrane proteins, which confirmed the general applicability of CNBr cleavage and the observed effects of OBG in peptide recovery after tryptic digestion.     

Ultrathin-layer sodium dodecyl sulfate disc electrophoresis of proteins in the range from 10 to 220 kDa in homogeneous,low-concentrated polyacrylamide gels

This study describes an ultrathin-layer sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) disc electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels of a thickness of only 150 microm. By use of 2-amino-2-methyl-1,3-propanediol/glycine instead of traditional Tris/HCl buffer in the resolving phase of the gel, proteins with a wide range of molecular sizes (10 kDa to over 220 kDa) are separated in unusually low-concentrated gels (4%T, 3.3%C). 2-Amino-2-methyl-1,3-propanediol in the resolving part of the gel contributes to stabilization of the pH value at 8.8, while glycine improves destacking as well as separation of small proteins from the bulk of stacked SDS. This method combines both the advantages of conventional slab-gel electrophoresis and capillary gel electrophoresis. It is easy to apply and well suited for all further miniaturization attempts.     

Capturing sodium dodecyl sulfate-treated protein antigens by antibody affinity electrophoresis

Modifications to antibody affinity electrophoresis for improved detection of proteins have been developed. The bifunctional linker glutaraldehyde is added to the polyacrylamide gel solution for better incorporation of the bait antibody into a distinct region of a 10% w/v polyacrylamide gel. The addition of glutaraldehyde alleviates the need of an electrophoresis buffer with a specific pH. The protein sample to be analyzed is treated with 2% w/v sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) to ensure that they carry a negative charge. The negative charge will allow the proteins to migrate towards the cathode and hence pass through the area embedded with the bait antibody. It is observed that electrophoretic migration of bovine serum albumin (BSA) or protein G ceases upon encounter with anti-BSA whereas proteins ovalbumin, beta-lactoglobulin A, and myoglobin migrate freely. However, the addition of 0.1% w/v SDS in the native gel running buffer disrupts the antibody-antigen bond and neither BSA nor protein G can be captured by anti-BSA.     

Analysis of proteins stained by Alexa dyes

Alexa dye staining of proteins is used for the fluorescence microscopy of single particles that are sometimes multimolecular protein complexes. To characterize the staining, post-staining determination must be made of which protein(s) in a complex have been Alexa-stained. The present communication describes the use of sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) for performing this determination. The Alexa-stained proteins are observed directly in gels by illumination with an ultraviolet transilluminator. The test multimolecular particle is bacteriophage T7. The protein capsid of T7 is a multimolecular complex that has both external and internal proteins. SDS-PAGE of Alexa-stained bacteriophage T7 produces fluorescent capsid proteins each of which usually comigrates with an unstained protein. However, one Alexa-induced modification of protein migration was observed by SDS-PAGE. Mass spectrometry shows that the protein with modified migration is the major protein of the outer shell of the T7 capsid. The procedures used are generally applicable. The distribution of Alexa staining among T7 capsid proteins depends on the size of the dye molecule used. The larger the dye molecule is, the greater the preference for external proteins.     

On-line isotachophoretic preconcentration and gel electrophoretic separation of sodium dodecyl sulfate-proteins on a microchip

A microchip for integrated isotachophoretic (ITP) preconcentration with gel electrophoretic (GE) separation to decrease the detectable concentration of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-proteins was developed. Each channel of the chip was designed with a long sample injection channel to increase the sample loading and allow stacking the sample into a narrow zone using discontinuous ITP buffers. The pre-concentrated sample was separated in GE mode in sieving polymer solutions. All the analysis steps including injection, preconcentration, and separation of the ITP-GE process were performed continuously, controlled by a high-voltage power source with sequential voltage switching between the analysis steps. Without deteriorating the peak resolution, four SDS-protein analyses with integrated ITP-GE system resulted in a decreased detectable concentration of approximately 40-fold compared to the GE mode only. A good calibration curve for molecular weights of SDS-proteins indicated that the integrated ITP-GE system can be used for qualitative analysis of unknown protein samples.     

Capillary zone electrophoresis with indirect UV detection: Determination of sodium dodecyl sulfate in simulated stream water

SDS (sodium dodecyl sulfate) has been quantitatively determined by capillary zone electrophoresis using a fused silica capillary and a 5 mM dihydroxybenzoic acid / sodium hydroxide buffer in 5% methanol solution at a pH of 8.1. The ion was detected by indirect UV absorption at 250 nm. Detection range was from 0.8 to 50 mg SDS/L. This rapid method requiring only small sample volumes was developed in support of an aquatic toxicology study in a simulated stream water and is applicable to waters containing common inorganic ions.     

毛细管电泳检测肺癌及癌旁正常组织蛋白质混合物差异

以建立的毛细管电泳(CE)-激光诱导荧光(LIF)检测蛋白质的方法对提取肺癌及癌旁正常组织蛋白质混合物(变 性/活性)差异进行检测. 采用异硫氰酸荧光素(FITC)为衍生剂, 电泳缓冲液为1×TBE (TBE为Tris-硼酸-EDTA, 变性电泳pH 10.0, 活性电泳为pH 8.3且含有2 mg/L考马斯亮蓝), 分离电压15 kV, 柱温15 ℃, 电动进样(10 kV×10 s), 激发波长/发射波长＝488/520 nm检测时, 肺癌及癌旁正常组织蛋白质混合物样品得到较好分离且有明显差异. 与目前常用蛋白分析方法: 变性SDS-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(SDS-PAGE)以及活性蓝绿温和胶电泳(BN-PAGE)进行比较. BN-PAGE结果显示肺癌组织相比正常组织有较明显蛋白种类差异|SDS-PAGE结果表明一些蛋白质表达量差异也是肺癌及癌旁正常组织的显著差别, 且主要集中在20～116 kDa. CE-LIF检测结果与PAGE结果大致相同, 且CE-LIF检测蛋白质的灵敏度高于PAGE, 能更准确反映肺癌及癌旁正常组织的蛋白质差异. 结论是CE-LIF可用于蛋白质差异检测, 时间短, 效果较好, 对活性蛋白质进行分析体现了其优点: 可提供较强的动力——电压, 及强动力下良好的温度稳定性.     

Detection of coexisting protein conformations in capillary zone electrophoresis subsequent to transient contact with sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions

Non-native conformations of proteins were generated by temporary contact with aqueous solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and separated from the native state with capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) in alkaline borate buffer deficient of SDS. Nine proteins at concentrations of 2.0 or 3.0 mg.L(-1) were compared in terms of their susceptibility to SDS. For superoxide dismutase and ferritin the tendency of unfolding was modest with < 25% of the protein being transformed to the non-native state at 10 mmol.L(-1) SDS. Highest susceptibility was observed for albumin, myoglobin (Mb), and hemoglobin with > 75% in the non-native state even at 2.0 mmol.L(-1) SDS. The influence of varying SDS concentrations on the conformational state of Mb was tested. Increasing the SDS concentration, circular dichroism revealed a reduction in alpha-helix, an increase in random coil, and an introduction of beta-sheet, which is absent in native structure. Modifications in the secondary structure were in agreement with distinct changes in the shape of the non-native Mb peak in CZE and make a gradual unfolding/refolding process with several coexisting molten globules instead of two-state transition of conformations most plausible for Mb. CZE was found to contribute to a further understanding of holo-Mb transformation towards a population of non-native conformations (i) by means of calculated peak area ratios of native to non-native states, which showed sigmoid transition, (ii) by detecting the release of the prosthetic heme group, and (iii) by changes in the effective electrophoretic mobility of the Mb-SDS peaks. Reconstituted holo-Mb forms differed in the Soret band around 410 nm, indicating diversity in the conformation of the heme pocket.     

Para-hydroxybenzoic acid as an indirect detection buffer in capillary zone electrophoresis

Summary Para-hydroxybenzoic acid (p-HBA) has been used as indirect UV detection buffer in capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE). Being an UV-absorbing dibasic acid, p-HBA provides both the necessary buffering for pH control over a wide range and UV absorbance for indirect detection. With sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a probe, a CZE method using p-HBA solution as running buffer was developed to analyze anions, especially ones with low electrophoretic mobilities. The method was used to separate homologous series of sulfonates, SDS in a formulation sample, and SDS in a standard.     

Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography of Cephalosporin Antibiotics

A simple micellar electrokinetic chromatographic (MEKC) method is described for the simultaneous separation of twelve cephalosporin antibiotics. The separation was performed in a phosphate buffer (0.1 M, pH 6.6) with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) (0.1 M) as an anionic surfactant. The complete separation of twelve cephalosporins was attained in 36 min. Application of the method to the quantitative analysis of cefuroxime, cephalexin, cephapirin and cephradine in pharmaceutical preparations was demonstrated.