Birte Schulenberg

An improved formulation of SYPRO Ruby protein gel stain: Comparison with the original formulation and with a ruthenium II tris (bathophenanthroline disulfonate) formulation

SYPRO Ruby protein gel stain is compatible with a variety of imaging platforms since it absorbs maximally in the ultraviolet (280 nm) and visible (470 nm) regions of the spectrum. Dye localization is achieved by noncovalent, electrostatic and hydrophobic binding to proteins, with signal being detected at 610 nm. Since proteins are not covalently modified by the dye, compatibility with downstream proteomics techniques such as matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionisation‐time of flight mass spectrometry is assured. The principal limitation of the original formulation of SYPRO Ruby protein gel stain, is that it was only compatible with a limited number of gel fixation procedures. Too aggressive a fixation protocol led to diminished signal intensity and poor detection sensitivity. This is particularly apparent when post‐staining gels subjected to labeling with other fluorophores such as Schiffs base staining of glycoproteins with fluorescent hydrazides. Consequently, we have developed an improved formulation of SYPRO Ruby protein gel stain that is fully compatible with commonly implemented protein fixation procedures and is suitable for post‐staining gels after detection of glycoproteins using the green fluorescent Pro‐Q Emerald 300 glycoprotein stain or detection of β‐glucuronidase using the green fluorescent ELF 97 β‐D‐glucuronide. The new stain formulation is brighter, making it easier to manually excise spots for peptide mass profiling. An additional benefit of the improved formulation is that it permits staining of proteins in isoelectric focusing gels, without the requirement for caustic acids.

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis; better than a poke in the ICAT?

To date, the most widely used technology for conducting proteomic studies has been two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DGE), but this approach does have drawbacks. Isotope-coded affinity tagging (ICAT) is starting to challenge 2DGE as a new proteomic tool for the analysis of proteins in complex biological specimens. An appraisal of these two methodologies reveals that neither ICAT nor 2DGE provide comprehensive coverage on a proteome-wide scale.

A novel subfractionation approach for mitochondrial proteins: a three-dimensional mitochondrial proteome map.

As mitochondria play critical roles in both cell life and cell death, there is great interest in obtaining a human mitochondrial proteome map. Such a map could potentially be useful in diagnosing diseases, identifying targets for drug therapy, and in screening for unwanted drug side effects. In this paper, we present a novel approach to obtaining a human mitochondrial proteome map that combines sucrose gradient centrifugation with standard two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis. The resulting three‐dimensional separation of proteins allows us to address some of the problems encountered during previous attempts to obtain mitochondrial proteome maps such as resolution of proteins and solubility of hydrophobic proteins during isoelectric focusing. In addition, we show that this new approach provides functional information about protein complexes within the organelle that is not obtained with two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis of whole mitochondria.

Mapping glycosylation changes related to cancer using the Multiplexed Proteomics technology : a protein differential display approach

The metastatic spread of tumor cells in malignant progression is known to be a major cause of cancer mortality. Protein glycosylation is increasingly being recognized as one of the most prominent biochemical alterations associated with malignant transformation and tumorigenesis. The Multiplexed Proteomics (MP) approach is a new technology that permits quantitative, multicolor fluorescence detection of proteins in two-dimensional (2-D) gels and on Western blots. This methodology allows the parallel determination of both altered glycosylation patterns and protein expression level changes within a single 2-D gel experiment. The linear responses of the fluorescent dyes utilized allow rigorous quantitation of changes in protein expression over a broad 3-log linear dynamic range. Global analysis of changes in protein glycosylation and total protein expression is followed by dichromatic, lectin-based profiling methods for rapidly categorizing glycan branching structures. The MP approach was applied to whole tissue extracts of normal and cancerous liver, so that altered glycosylation modification patterns and protein expression levels could be determined. One prominent glycoprotein determined to be up-regulated in the tumor tissue was haptoglobin, an acute-phase response protein. The detection methodologies associated with the MP technology radically increase the information content of 2-D gel experiments. This new information greatly enhances the applicability of these experiments in addressing fundamental questions associated with proteome-wide glycosylation changes related to cancer.

Strategies and solid-phase formats for the analysis of protein and peptide phosphorylation employing a novel fluorescent phosphorylation sensor dye.

Protein kinases represent one of the largest families of regulatory enzymes, with more than 2,000 of them being encoded for by the human genome. Many cellular processes are regulated by the reversible phosphorylation of proteins and upwards of 30% of the proteins comprising the eukaryotic proteome are likely to be phosphorylated at some point during their existence. In the past, analysis of global protein phosphorylation has been accomplished through radiolabelling of samples with inorganic (32P or [gamma-32)P] ATP. The approach is limited to specimens amenable to radiolabelling and poses certain safety and disposal problems. Alternatively, immunodetection with antibodies to the common phosphoamino acids may be employed, but the antibodies are relatively expensive and exhibit limited specificity and a certain degree of cross-reactivity. Pro-Q Diamond dye is a new fluorescent phosphosensor technology suitable for the detection of phosphoserine-, phosphothreonine- and phosphotyrosine-containing proteins directly in isoelectric focusing gels, SDS-polyacrylamide gels and two-dimensional gels. Additionally, the technology is appropriate for the detection of phosphoproteins or phosphopeptides arrayed on protein chips or affixed to beads. Dye-stained proteins and peptides can be excited with a laser-based light source of 532 or 543 nm or with a xenon-arc lamp-based system equipped with appropriate band pass filters. Alternatively, ultraviolet light of about 302 nm may be employed, providing that sufficiently long exposure times are used to collect the fluorescence signal. Pro-Q Diamond dye emits maximally at approximately 580 nm. The fluorescence-based detection technology is easy to conduct, cost effective and allows rapid large-scale screening of protein and peptide phosphorylation in a variety of solid-phase assay formats.

Simultaneous red/green dual fluorescence detection on electroblots using BODIPY TR-X succinimidyl ester and ELF 39 phosphate

A two‐color fluorescence detection method is described based upon covalently coupling the succinimidyl ester of BODIPY TR‐X dye to proteins immobilized on polyvinylidene difluoride membranes, followed by detection of target proteins using the fluorogenic, precipitating substrate ELF 39‐phosphate in combination with alkaline phosphatase conjugated reporter molecules. This results in all proteins in the profile being visualized as fluorescent red signal while those detected specifically with the alkaline phosphatase conjugate appear as fluorescent green signal. The dichromatic detection system is broadly compatible with ultraviolet epi‐ or trans‐illuminators combined with photographic or charge‐coupled device cameras, and xenon‐arc sources equipped with appropriate excitation/emission filters. The dichromatic method permits detection of low nanogram amounts of protein and allows for unambiguous identification of target proteins relative to the entire protein profile on a single electroblot, obviating the need to run replicate gels that would otherwise require visualization of total proteins by silver staining and subsequent alignment with chemiluminescent or colorimetric signals generated on electroblots. Combining the detection approach with an Alexa Fluor 350 dye conjugated monoclonal antibody permits simultaneous fluorescence detection of two antigens and the total protein profile on the same electroblot.