V3 Stain-free Workflow for a Practical,Convenient, and Reliable Total Protein Loading Control in Western Blotting

The western blot is a very useful and widely adopted lab technique, but its execution is challenging. The workflow is often characterized as a "black box" because an experimentalist does not know if it has been performed successfully until the last of several steps. Moreover, the quality of western blot data is sometimes challenged due to a lack of effective quality control tools in place throughout the western blotting process. Here we describe the V3 western workflow, which applies stain-free technology to address the major concerns associated with the traditional western blot protocol. This workflow allows researchers: 1) to run a gel in about 20-30 min; 2) to visualize sample separation quality within 5 min after the gel run; 3) to transfer proteins in 3-10 min; 4) to verify transfer efficiency quantitatively; and most importantly 5) to validate changes in the level of the protein of interest using total protein loading control. This novel approach eliminates the need of stripping and reprobing the blot for housekeeping proteins such as β-actin, β-tubulin, GAPDH, etc. The V3 stain-free workflow makes the western blot process faster, transparent, more quantitative and reliable.     

Conditions that allow for effective transfer of membrane proteins onto nitrocellulose membrane in Western blots

A major hurdle in characterizing bacterial membrane proteins by Western blotting is the ineffectiveness of transferring these proteins from sodium dodecyl sulfate -- polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) gel onto nitrocellulose membrane, using standard Western blot buffers and electrophoretic conditions. In this study, we compared a number of modified Western blotting buffers and arrived at a composition designated as the SDS-PAGE-Urea Lysis buffer. The use of this buffer and specific conditions allowed the reproducible transfer of highly hydrophobic bacterial membrane proteins with 2-12 transmembrane-spanning segments as well as soluble proteins onto nitrocellulose membranes. This method should be broadly applicable for immunochemical studies of other membrane proteins.     

Blue Dry Western: Simple, economic, informative, and fast way of immunodetection

The analysis by electrophoresis followed by transfer to membranes and immunodetection (Western blot) is probably the most popular technique in protein study. Accordingly, it is a time- and money-consuming procedure. Here a protocol is described where immunodetection can be accomplished in 30 min. This approach also allows permanent staining of proteins by Coomassie Blue R on the membrane before immune staining with clear background and high sensitivity.     

电转移中蛋白质的透膜现象及其对蛋白质印迹结果的影响

探讨了电转移中蛋白质的透膜现象及其对蛋白质印迹结果的影响.采用抗凋亡抑制蛋白-Survivin的抗体,对细胞裂解液进行蛋白质印迹.与常规操作方法不同之处是：在电转移的凝胶“三明治”中,重叠放置两张硝酸纤维素膜.电转移后,对两张膜同时进行免疫印迹.在特定的转移条件下,两张膜的免疫印迹都出现了Survivin蛋白的特异印迹带,证实了电转移中存在着蛋白质的透膜现象.转移时间、电流强度和蛋白质的分子质量,都是影响蛋白质透膜的相关因素.电转移中蛋白质的透膜,可以产生“印迹复制失真”的效应,从而最终影响蛋白质印迹定性和定量的结果.所得实验结果和结论,揭示了蛋白质印迹技术方法学中一个需要加以充分关注的问题,对于科学掌握和应用该技术具有积极作用.     

蛋白免疫印迹法检测小分子蛋白的实验条件优化研究

目的:蛋白免疫印迹法自发明以来被广泛应用于现代生物学研究中的蛋白质定性和半定量分析。为了提高蛋白免疫印迹法的检测效率,需针对不同蛋白的特性调节相关的实验条件参数。本文旨在探讨免疫印迹法不同参数对小分子蛋白检测效果的影响,从而优化并获得最佳实验条件。方法:比较不同转膜电压和时间、转移缓冲液甲醇含量、不同化学发光剂对小分子蛋白的检测效果。结果:选择20 V、10 min转膜电压和时间所获得的信号显著高于10 V、25 min转膜条件,选择含20%甲醇转移缓冲液所获得的信号显著高于无甲醇转移缓冲液,选择飞克级化学发光剂所获得的信号显著高于纳克级化学发光剂。结论:选用高电压、短时间组合,选择含20%甲醇转移缓冲液和飞克级化学发光剂信号均有助于小分子蛋白免疫印迹检测。     

Proteomic analysis of human biopsy samples by single two-dimensional electrophoresis: Coomassie,silver, mass spectrometry,and Western blotting

Proteomic analysis of myocardial tissue from patient populations is critical to our understanding of cardiac disease, but has been limited until now by the small size of biopsies (approximately 20-50 microg), and complicated by the difference in relative abundance of contractile proteins over other cellular components. Here we describe an approach to analysis of myocardial biopsies from patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery. First, individual biopsies are selectively extracted, producing subfractions that correspond to the contractile proteins and the cytosolic proteins. Two-dimensional electrophoresis separated proteins are detected by first staining with Coomassie blue then silver, to permit a wider range of accurate quantification. Western blotting of two-dimensional separated samples, to validate peptide mass fingerprinting data, previously required additional gel separations for transfer since staining protocols are not compatible with transfer to membranes or immunoblotting. An existing silver destaining protocol was adapted to allow removal of silver from a whole gel, followed by transfer and Western blotting. An existing Coomassie blue removal protocol was also adapted to permit Western blotting of gels stained with Coomassie blue and silver. Together, these techniques permit peptide mass fingerprinting concurrent with Western blotting of a single protein spot from a single biopsy, eliminating the need for repeated gel separations, and improving spot alignment between immunoblots and stained gels. In the end, this approach may allow a more complete characterization of protein changes in small human biopsies, and also reduce the number of repeated gel separations necessary for a standard proteomic analysis.     

Western Blotting Inaccuracies with Unverified Antibodies: Need for a Western Blotting Minimal Reporting Standard (WBMRS)

Western blotting is a commonly used technique in biological research. A major problem with Western blotting is not the method itself, but the use of poor quality antibodies as well as the use of different experimental conditions that affect the linearity and sensitivity of the Western blot. Investigation of some conditions that are commonly used and often modified in Western blotting, as well as some commercial antibodies, showed that published articles often fail to report critical parameters needed to reproduce the results. These parameters include the amount of protein loaded, the blocking solution and conditions used, the amount of primary and secondary antibodies used, the antibody incubation solutions, the detection method and the quantification method utilized. In the present study, comparison of ubiquitinated proteins in rat heart and liver samples showed different results depending on the antibody utilized. Validation of five commercial ubiquitin antibodies using purified ubiquitinated proteins, ubiquitin chains and free ubiquitin showed that these antibodies differ in their ability to detect free ubiquitin or ubiquitinated proteins. Investigating proteins modified with interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) in young and old rat hearts using six commercially available antibodies showed that most antibodies gave different semi-quantitative results, suggesting large variability among antibodies. Evidence showing the importance of the Western blot buffer and the concentration of antibody used is presented. Hence there is a critical need for comprehensive reporting of experimental conditions to improve the accuracy and reproducibility of Western blot analysis. A Western blotting minimal reporting standard (WBMRS) is suggested to improve the reproducibility of Western blot analysis.     

Analyzing the homeostasis of signaling proteins by a combination of Western blot and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

The determination of intracellular protein concentrations is a prerequisite for understanding protein interaction networks in systems biology. Today, protein quantification is based either on mass spectrometry, which requires large cell numbers and sophisticated measurement protocols, or on quantitative Western blotting, which requires the expression and purification of a recombinant protein as a reference. Here, we present a method that uses a transiently expressed fluorescent fusion protein of the protein-of-interest as an easily accessible reference in small volumes of crude cell lysates. The concentration of the fusion protein is determined by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, and this concentration is used to calibrate the intensity of bands on a Western blot. We applied this method to address cellular protein homeostasis by determining the concentrations of the plasma membrane-located transmembrane scaffolding protein LAT and soluble signaling proteins in naïve T cells and transformed T-cell lymphoma (Jurkat) cells (with the latter having nine times the volume of the former). Strikingly, the protein numbers of soluble proteins scaled with the cell volume, whereas that of the transmembrane protein LAT scaled with the membrane surface. This leads to significantly different stoichiometries of signaling proteins in transformed and naïve cells in concentration ranges that may translate directly into differences in complex formation.     

Automated capillary Western dot blot method for the identity of a 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

Simple Western is a new technology that allows for the separation, blotting, and detection of proteins similar to a traditional Western except in a capillary format. Traditionally, identity assays for biological products are performed using either an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or a manual dot blot Western. Both techniques are usually very tedious, labor-intensive, and complicated for multivalent vaccines, and they can be difficult to transfer to other laboratories. An advantage this capillary Western technique has over the traditional manual dot blot Western method is the speed and the automation of electrophoresis separation, blotting, and detection steps performed in 96 capillaries. This article describes details of the development of an automated identity assay for a 15-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, PCV15–CRM197, using capillary Western technology.     

A quantitative Western Blot method for protein measurement

A radioimmunologic assay method for the quantitation of small amounts of protein in recombinant vaccines at the level of 20-150 ng is evaluated which uses the techniques of SDS-PAGE and electrophoretic protein transfer ("Western Blot'). Known amounts of the protein being determined are included on the same gel as the unknown. After protein blotting, the nitrocellulose membrane is treated with antibody specific for the protein being determined and subsequently with [125I] Protein A. An autoradiogram is produced which corresponds directly to the nitrocellulose blot. It can, therefore, serve as a template to locate the labeled protein which is excised from the blot and measured in a gamma counter. The technique is found especially useful for evaluating cell lysates of recombinant bacteria and yeast for the percentage of the recombinant protein in the total protein mixture.     

A modified Western blot protocol for enhanced sensitivity in the detection of a membrane protein

Membrane proteins, owing to their highly hydrophobic nature, have always posed a daunting challenge to biochemists and structural biologists working on the characterization of these “naughty” proteins. Here we describe a problem that we encountered in the immunodetection of a hemagglutinin (HA) epitope-tagged membrane protein, Hgt1p (high-affinity glutathione transporter from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae), for which little or no signal was observed on the blots with monoclonal antibody, on following the standard Western blot protocol. The introduction of a single step that involved posttransfer incubation of the blots with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/β-mercaptoethanol solution at 55 °C for 15 min enabled us to detect a strong, stable, and reproducible signal for the membrane protein.     

Visible fluorescent detection of proteins in polyacrylamide gels without staining

2,2,2-Trichloroethanol (TCE) incorporated into polyacrylamide gels before polymerization provides fluorescent visible detection of proteins in less than 5min of total processing time. The tryptophans in proteins undergo an ultraviolet light-induced reaction with trihalocompounds to produce fluorescence in the visible range so that the protein bands can be visualized on a 300-nm transilluminator. In a previous study trichloroacetic acid or chloroform was used to stain polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) gels for protein visualization. This study shows that placing TCE in the gel before electrophoresis can eliminate the staining step. The gel is removed from the electrophoresis apparatus and placed on a transilluminator and then the protein bands develop their fluorescence in less than 5min. In addition to being rapid this visualization method provides detection of 0.2microg of typical globular proteins, which for some proteins is slightly more sensitive than the standard Coomassie brilliant blue (CBB) method. Integral membrane proteins, which do not stain well with CBB, are visualized well with the TCE in-gel method. After TCE in-gel visualization the same gel can then be CBB stained, allowing for complementary detection of proteins. In addition, visualization with TCE in the gel is compatible with two-dimensional PAGE, native PAGE, Western blotting, and autoradiography.     

Western blotting via proximity ligation for high performance protein analysis

Western blotting is a powerful and widely used method, but limitations in detection sensitivity and specificity, and dependence upon high quality antibodies to detect targeted proteins, are hurdles to overcome. The in situ proximity ligation assay, based on dual antibody recognition and powerful localized signal amplification, offers increased detection sensitivity and specificity, along with an ability to identify complex targets such as phosphorylated or interacting proteins. Here we have applied the in situ proximity ligation assay mechanism in Western blotting. This combination allowed the use of isothermal rolling circle amplification of DNA molecules formed in target-specific ligation reaction, for 16-fold or greater increase in detection sensitivity. The increased specificity because of dual antibody recognition ensured highly selective assays, detecting the specific band when combinations of two cross-reactive antitubulin antibodies were used (i.e. both producing distinct nonspecific bands in traditional Western blotting). We also demonstrated detection of phosphorylated platelet-derived growth factor receptor β by proximity ligation with one antibody directed against the receptor and another directed against the phosphorylated tyrosine residue. This avoided the need for stripping and re-probing the membrane or aligning two separate traditional blots. We demonstrate that the high-performance in situ proximity ligation-based Western blotting described herein is compatible with detection via enhanced chemiluminescence and fluorescence detection systems, and can thus be readily employed in any laboratory.     

A high-affinity reversible protein stain for Western blots

We describe a reversible staining technique, using MemCode, a reversible protein stain by which proteins can be visualized on nitrocellulose and polyvinylidine fluoride (PVDF) membranes without being permanently fixed to the membrane itself. This allows subsequent immunoblot analysis of the proteins to be performed. The procedure is applicable only to protein blots on nitrocellulose and PVDF membranes. MemCode is a reversible protein stain composed of copper as a part of an organic complex that interacts noncovalently with proteins. MemCode shows rapid protein staining, taking 30s to 1 min for completion. The method is simple and utilizes convenient application conditions that are compatible with the matrix materials and the protein. The stain is more sensitive than any previously described dye-based universal protein staining system. The turquoise-blue-stained protein bands do not fade with time and are easy to photograph compared to those stained with Ponceau S. Absorbance in the blue region of the spectrum offers good properties for photo documentation and avoids interference from common biological chromophores. The stain on the protein is easily reversible in 2 min for nitrocellulose membrane and in 10 min for PVDF membrane with MemCode stain eraser. The stain is compatible with general Western blot detection systems, and membrane treatment with MemCode stain does not interfere with conventional chemiluminescent or chromogenic detection using horseradish peroxide and alkaline phosphatase substrates. The stain is also compatible with N-terminal sequence analysis of proteins.     

Inhibition of ileal brush-border chloride conductance by specific antibody

Summary Antibody raised in mice was used in attempting to identify proteins responsible for the conductive chloride transport that can be measured in porcine ileal brush border membrane vesicles. Ileal brush-border membrane vesicle protein from pig was separated into five different molecular mass fractions by preparative SDS polyacrylamide disc gel electrophoresis. Separated protein fractions were used to immunize mice. Antibody was screened for reactivity with antigen by Western blotting, and for effects on conductive chloride transport in ileal brush border membrane vesicles. Immunization with brush-border protein from fraction I proteins (>110 kDa) produced polyclonal antisera which specifically inhibited the conductive component of chloride uptake by ileal brush border vesicle preparations. Western blotting of the antigen showed the presence of several protein species of molecular mass >100 kDa that were recognized by immune serum. Spleen cells from a mouse producing antiserum that inhibited conductive chloride transport were fused with a myeloma cell line. The resulting hybridoma colonies produced antibody that reacted with at least seven distinct protein bands by Western blot assay and inhibited chloride conductance in brush-border membrane vesicles.     

Protein purification and analysis: next generation Western blotting techniques

Introduction: Western blotting is one of the most commonly used techniques in molecular biology and proteomics. Since western blotting is a multistep protocol, variations and errors can occur at any step reducing the reliability and reproducibility of this technique. Recent reports suggest that a few key steps, such as the sample preparation method, the amount and source of primary antibody used, as well as the normalization method utilized, are critical for reproducible western blot results.

Areas covered: In this review, improvements in different areas of western blotting, including protein transfer and antibody validation, are summarized. The review discusses the most advanced western blotting techniques available and highlights the relationship between next generation western blotting techniques and its clinical relevance.

Expert commentary: Over the last decade significant improvements have been made in creating more sensitive, automated, and advanced techniques by optimizing various aspects of the western blot protocol. New methods such as single cell-resolution western blot, capillary electrophoresis, DigiWest, automated microfluid western blotting and microchip electrophoresis have all been developed to reduce potential problems associated with the western blotting technique. Innovative developments in instrumentation and increased sensitivity for western blots offer novel possibilities for increasing the clinical implications of western blot.     

Quantitative fluorescence cytometric analysis of Bcl-2 levels in tumor cells exhibiting a wide range of inherent Bcl-2 protein expression: correlation with Western blot analysis

BACKGROUND: A protocol to measure a wide range of Bcl-2 protein expression using quantitative fluorescence cytometry (QFCM) in different cell types was developed for use with flow cytometry. Bcl-2 measurements obtained by flow cytometry were correlated with Western blot Bcl-2 measurements to confirm specificity of the Bcl-2-FITC staining. This protocol was applied to measure absolute levels of Bcl-2 protein in different tumor cell lines including Bcl-2-transfected breast carcinoma cell lines and in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). METHODS: HL-60, K562, DOHH2, Jurkat, MDA435/LCC6, MCF7 cell lines, and PBL derived from normal donors were fixed, permeabilized, stained with anti-Bcl-2-FITC antibody and evaluated by QFCM. In parallel, the same cells were evaluated for Bcl-2 protein expression by Western blot analysis. Mitochondrial localization of anti-Bcl-2-FITC antibody inside cells was confirmed using fluorescence imaging microscopy. RESULTS: Bcl-2 expression in different cell types could be accurately quantified based on antibody-binding capacity (ABC) ranging from 12.6 x 10(3) antibody-binding sites in HL-60 cells to 1.64 x 10(6) antibody-binding sites in a Bcl-2-transfected MDA435/LCC6 clone. The data from flow cytometry analysis correlated well with Western analysis (R(2) = 0.78). Bcl-2-FITC staining colocalized with dyes specific for mitochondria. CONCLUSIONS: The Bcl-2 staining protocol described here was shown to be specific, sensitive, and it was able to provide higher resolution as well as more reproducible quantitation of Bcl-2 protein content in cells when compared with Western blot methods. Quantitation of Bcl-2 content in cells by QFCM may be useful for monitoring Bcl-2 expression in cells undergoing various treatments in vitro and in vivo.     

Bioconjugation of quantum dot luminescent probes for Western blot analysis

Western blot analysis is a widely used technique for protein immunodetection. Its current format, however is unsuitable for multiplex detection of proteins, primarily due to intrinsic limitations of standard organic dyes employed as probes. Quantum dot (QD) semiconductor nanoparticles exhibit significant advantages over organic dyes, including their broad absorption bands, narrow, tunable, and symmetric emission spectra, large Stokes shifts, and excellent photostability. Here we describe a novel method for the functionalization of streptavidin-coated QDs with an in vivo biotinylated peptide (head-to-tail dimerized Z domain derived from protein A) that permits the facile conjugation of antibodies to QDs. In this study, we demonstrate the simultaneous detection of two different types of protein in a Western blot. The bioconjugation of QDs described here makes it possible to achieve multiplex detection of proteins in Western blot analysis in a more straightforward manner.