Fluorescent labeling of nitrocellulose-bound proteins at the nanogram level without changes in immunoreactivity

Proteins blotted on nitrocellulose were stained with either 5-dimethylamino-1-naphthalene-sulfonylchloride (dansyl chloride) or fluorescein isothiocyanate. In both cases the staining procedure can be completed in less than 30 min. The sensitivity for detecting fluorescent-labeled proteins on nitrocellulose was 0.5 ng using a dot test. This was accomplished by transparentizing the nitrocellulose with either immersion oil or toluene. Dansylated proteins were successfully utilized for optimizing the electroblotting procedure. In the presence of 0.2% sodium dodecyl sulfate and 20% methanol the distribution of proteins on the nitrocellulose was an exact replica of the protein pattern seen in the polyacrylamide gel. The fluorescent labeling did not affect the antigenic properties of proteins allowing the subsequent probing with antisera. For this procedure, only one set of samples is needed to obtain accurate photographic records of the gel, the nitrocellulose blot, and the probed blot.     

In-gel ligand blotting with 125I-heparin for detection of heparin-binding growth factors

125I-labeled heparin was used to detect basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in crude tumor cell extracts after separation by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. 125I-labeled heparin bound avidly to native recombinant bFGF immobilized on nitrocellulose and eluted with 1.5-2.0 M NaCl. However, Western transfer of bFGF to nitrocellulose after SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis destroyed heparin-binding ability. In contrast, bFGF was detected by incubation of the polyacrylamide gels directly with 125I-labeled heparin in a gel overly technique. Heparin affinity and NaCl elution pattern from bFGF in gel were similar to those observed for native bFGF spotted on nitrocellulose. This procedure permitted detection of bFGF in crude extracts of a human astrocytoma cell line. In view of the rapid growth of the heparin-binding fibroblast growth factor gene family, this technique should prove useful for the rapid and sensitive detection of other heparin-binding growth factors.     

Determination of collagen band positions on polyacrylamide gel without staining

Protein band positions on a slab polyacrylamide gel were determined without staining, by blotting the bands onto a nitrocellulose membrane which was then stained to visualize the electrophoretic pattern. The unfixed, unstained bands were cut from the gel according to the copy pattern placed underneath the slab gel. Collagen alpha 1 and alpha 2 chains were separately extracted from the gel using this procedure.     

Blotting intact immunoglobulins and other high-molecular-weight proteins after composite agarose-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

A composite agarose-polyacrylamide gel containing urea and sodium dodecyl sulfate reliably resolved unreduced human immunoglobulins according to their molecular weight. Intact immunoglobulins and a number of other macromolecules were readily transferred to nitrocellulose paper by either capillary or electrophoretic blotting, although the latter technique was more effective. Conventional antigen probing as well as immobilized antibody studies can be performed on the nitrocellulose transfers.     

Biotinylated proteins as molecular weight standards on Western blots

Protein molecular weight standards were biotinylated by reaction with biotinyl-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester. The biotinylated proteins were resolved by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and electrophoretically transferred to nitrocellulose paper. The resolved protein bands were detected by formation of a streptavidin-biotin/horseradish peroxidase complex and reaction with 4-chloro-1-naphthol and hydrogen peroxide. The biotinylated proteins are easy to prepare and are useful as molecular weight standards with most procedures employing immunodetection of proteins following transfer to nitrocellulose paper.     

Appearance and phosphorylation of the 210 kDalton neurofilament protein in newborn rat brain,spinal cord,and sciatic nerve

The appearance and in vivo phosphorylation of the 210 kDalton (kD) neurofilament protein (NF210K) in newborn rat brain, spinal cord, and sciatic nerve were invetigated. Electron microscopic examination of neurofilaments isolated from newborn rat brain and spinal cord demonstrated morphologically distinct filaments which contained cross-bridging side arms. Neurofilament proteins, phosphorylated in vivo, were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate slab gel electrophoresis and were transferred from acrylamide gels to nitrocellulose sheets. The nitrocellulose sheets were treated with antiserum to the 70 kD, 145 kD and 210 kD neurofilament proteins by the immunoblot technique. The three neurofilament proteins were found to be present in newborn brain, spinal cord and sciatic nerve. The presence of NF210K in newborn rat brain was further confirmed by 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by indentification of this protein by the immunoblot technique. Exposure of the immunostained nitrocellulose sheets to x-ray film revealed that the NF210K, NF145K, and NF70K proteins were phosphorylated in filaments prepared from newborn rat central and peripheral nervous systems. These results suggest that the synthesis and posttranslational modification of the neurofilament proteins may be synchronized or developmentally regulated. It is feasible that phosphorylation of the NF210K subunit may be a prerequisite for the formation of neurofilament cross-bridging elements which are necessary for radial growth of axons.     

A method for the production of highly specific polyclonal antibodies

Two polyclonal antibodies directed against paramyosin and tropomyosin from Owenia fusiformis (a marine polychete annelid) were obtained using a new method of immunization. After purification by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, proteins were transferred onto a nitrocellulose sheet using the Western blot technique. The proteins bound to their cellulose support were injected into rabbits without Freund's adjuvant and without solubilization of nitrocellulose with dimethyl sulfoxide. Highly specific polyclonal antibodies were generated.     

Mapping of radiolabeled peptides derived from proteolysis of polypeptides bound to nitrocellulose after "Western" blotting

Sections of nitrocellulose containing bound 32P-labeled polypeptides were excised from "Western" blots and exhaustively digested by trypsin in order to analyze the distribution of phosphorylation sites between the products of limited proteolysis of the multifunctional protein CAD. Using the criterion of analytical isoelectric focusing, the 32P-peptides obtained by this method were found to be similar, although not identical, to peptides obtained by a more conventional digestion of trichloroacetic acid precipitates. Digestion on Western blots is more straightforward than electrophoretic elution of individual gel slices, gives better recoveries than direct digestion of gel slices, and is particularly suitable for peptide mapping of small peptides which bind to nitrocellulose but would diffuse out of polyacrylamide gels during the commonly used fixing and staining procedures.     

Analysis of serum insulin-like growth factor binding proteins using western blotting: use of the method for titration of the binding proteins and competitive binding studies

A nitrocellulose gel transfer technique has been adapted to study the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) binding proteins of human serum. Normal and hypopituitary sera were subjected to sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, followed by electroblotting to nitrocellulose or nylon membrane. Nonidet-P40 (3%) and Tween 20 (0.1%) were required for quenching and to allow detection of the IGF binding proteins by autoradiography after overlay with either 125I-labeled IGF I or IGF II. Several forms of IGF binding protein have been identified with molecular weights of 41,500, 38,500, 34,000, 30,000, and 24,000. Titration and competitive binding studies with IGF were performed on the transferred IGF binding proteins, indicating that binding proteins isolated by this technique can be characterized.     

ras p21 and other Gn proteins are detected in mammalian cell lines by [gamma-35S]GTP gamma S binding

The presence of guanine nucleotide binding proteins in mouse and human cell lines was investigated using [gamma-35S]GTP gamma S and [gamma-32P]GTP. Cell lysate polypeptides were separated by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transferred to nitrocellulose. Incubation of the nitrocellulose blots with [gamma-35S]GTP gamma S identified 9 distinct GTP-binding polypeptides in all lysates. One of these is the ras oncogene product, p21, as demonstrated by subsequent immunochemical staining of the nitrocellulose blots. We have shown that this procedure provides a sensitive method for detection of p21 in culture cell lines.     

Proteolytic release of glycopeptides from glycoproteins transferred to nitrocellulose following gel electrophoresis

To determine whether glycopeptides could be released from glycoproteins bound to nitrocellulose, the glycoproteins of murine mammary tumor virus (MuMTV) were radiolabeled by the periodate oxidation/tritiated sodium borohydride reduction technique and separated by gel electrophoresis followed by diffusion transfer. Pronase digestion of nitrocellulose filter strips containing labeled glycoproteins (gp55 or gp34) revealed a rapid release of glycopeptides, i.e., approximately total release within 4 h. The released glycopeptides were similar in size, as determined by molecular sieving chromatography, to glycopeptides obtained by proteolytic digestion of MuMTV glycoproteins from dried gel strips (A. Zilberstein et al., 1980, Cell 21, 417-427) or in solution (M. J. Yagi et al., 1978, Virology 91, 291-304).     

Practical applications in molecular biology of sensitive fluorescence detection by a laser-excited fluorescence image analyzer.

A new kind of fluorescence image analyzer was developed for a variety of uses, especially in molecular biology. Compounds labeled with fluorescent groups on a gel or nitrocellulose membrane are excited with 532 nm of light from a green laser. The fluorescence emitted passes through light-collecting fibers to a photomultiplier. Imaging data converted from the emitted light are analyzed by a microcomputer and stored on a magnetic optical disk. Dideoxy DNA sequencing was done with the same amount of DNA used for autoradiography, and the sequencing ladders obtained from gel scanning were automatically converted to sequence data by the analyzer. When an agarose gel was analyzed after electrophoresis, DNA stained with ethidium bromide was detected by the analyzer with higher sensitivity rather than by the conventional photographic method. Nylon and nitrocellulose membranes could be read by the analyzer, so blot hybridization experiments can be done without radioisotopes. High-quality computer storage of the imaging data from gel electrophoresis and hybridized membranes, including pulsed-field gels, make it possible to quantify image intensity and to construct many kinds of databases.     

Dried gel hybridization in place of Southern hybridization for detection of Listeria monocytogenes DNA fragments

A simple, sensitive, dried gel DNA hybridization method for detection of Listeria monocytogenes DNA fragments is described. DNA samples were fractionated on an agarose gel. The gel was then denatured in NaOH-NaCl and neutralized in Tris-NaCl. The resulting agarose gel was dried and hybridized with 32P-labelled DNA probe. No transfer to nitrocellulose membranes was used.     

Multiple immunoreplica Technique: screening for specific proteins with a series of different antibodies using one polyacrylamide gel

A simple method for immunological identification of proteins resolved electrophoretically is presented. Proteins from one polyacrylamide gel can be subjected to a series of electrophoretic transfers to nitrocellulose paper (partial “western-blots”), providing several replicas of the gel. Each replica can be reacted with a series of different antisera (at least three), where the preceding antibody is removed by treatment with pH 2.2. The antigen-antibody complexes are visualized using ¹²⁵I-Protein A. Reactivity and antigenic specificity of proteins immobilized on nitrocellulose paper is not affected by repeated incubations and low pH treatments. Identical size of the replicas and superimposable profiles of proteins detected by antibodies allow a precise localization of particular polypeptides in the original gel.     

Adenosylhomocysteinase:Adenosine complex

Adenosylhomocysteinase from yellow lupin seeds forms a specific complex with adenosine. The complex can be isolated either by nonequilibrium or equilibrium gel filtration. It is also adsorbed on nitrocellulose disks. Dissociation constant of the complex determined by nitrocellulose filter assay is 5 × 10^?8M.     

Detection of antigens on nitrocellulose paper immunoblots with monoclonal antibodies

A very sensitive method for the detection of antigen-antibody complexes on nitrocellulose paper immunoblots is described. The protein antigens are separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by their electrophoretic transfer onto a nitrocellulose sheet (“Western blot”). The protein antigens bound to the nitrocellulose paper are exposed to the monoclonal antibody and the antibody-antigen complexes are detected on the paper by an immunoenzymatic reaction. The improved sensitivity of this method is the result of (i) the use of the detergent Tween 20 in blocking the nonspecific binding of the antibodies to the nitrocellulose paper, (ii) the use of a peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) reaction, and (iii) the intensification of the diaminobenzidine reaction product with nickel and cobalt ions in phosphate buffer.     

Enzymoblotting: a method for localizing proteinases and their zymogens using para-nitroanilide substrates after agarose gel electrophoresis and transfer to nitrocellulose

A method--enzymoblotting--was developed for localizing various enzymes after electrophoretic separation, transfer to nitrocellulose, and incubation with specific substrates. As an application, the proteinases porcine trypsin (EC 3.4.21.4), bovine chymotrypsin (EC 3.4.21.1), porcine elastase (EC 3.4.22.11), and their zymogen forms from porcine pancreas homogenate were analyzed utilizing specific p-nitroanilide substrates. After agarose gel electrophoresis, transfer of the separated proteinases to a nitrocellulose membrane was performed by capillary diffusion for 30 min. After air-drying of the nitrocellulose membrane, it was incubated in the appropriate substrate solution for 60 min. N-alpha-Benzoyl-DL-arginine-para-nitroanilide HCl was used as a substrate for trypsin, N-benzoyl-L-tyrosine-para-nitroanilide and succinyl-L-phenylalanine-para-nitroanilide for chymotrypsin, and N-succinyl-L-alanyl-L-alanyl-L-alanine-para-nitroanilide for elastase. p-Nitroaniline, the product thus obtained, was diazotized with N-(1-naphthyl)ethylenediamine to a red azo dye, visible at the site of the proteinases on the nitrocellulose membrane. The results could be preserved at -18 degrees C. Zymogen forms of the pancreas proteinases were detected in a similar manner. They were converted to active proteinases in situ on the nitrocellulose membrane after preincubating the nitrocellulose membrane in the activation enzymes enteropeptidase or trypsin.     

Electrophoretic Transfer from Polyacrylamide Gel to Nitrocellulose Sheets, a New Method To Characterize Multilocus Enzyme Genotypes of Klebsiella Strains

A new method for multilocus enzyme electrophoresis, based on electrophoretic transfers to nitrocellulose after polyacrylamide-agarose gel electrophoresis was explored. Electrophoretic separation was performed on 1-mm-thick slab gels with 6-μl samples of bacterial extracts and was followed by serial 5-min consecutive transfers. The transferability of 19 metabolic enzymes of Klebsiella strains was studied and allowed the simultaneous examination of one enzyme in the separation gel and at least five enzymes on nitrocellulose sheets. The resolution of enzyme bands was increased on nitrocellulose; thus, well-separated bands were recorded for nucleoside phosphorylase, peptidase, and phosphoglucose isomerase whereas their mobility variants could not be clearly distinguished in the separation gel because of stain diffusion. The study of genetic relationships of 42 strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae and 24 strains of Klebsiella oxytoca demonstrated the reliability of the method, since clustering analysis of electrophoretic types, based on electrophoretic polymorphism of 10 metabolic enzymes, showed two main clusters well correlated with the two species. The 57 electrophoretic types described confirm the usefulness of the method for the study of genetic relationships between closely related strains.     

Efficient transfer of proteins from acetic acid-urea and isoelectric-focusing gels to nitrocellulose membrane filters with retention of protein antigenicity

A method which facilitates the rapid and quantitative electrophoretic transfer of proteins from gels not containing sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) to nitrocellulose membranes is described. The equilibration of non-SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic gels in a buffer containing SDS confers a net negative charge to the proteins present, presumably as a result of the formation of SDS-protein complexes. Proteins from gels equilibrated in the SDS buffer and then electroblotted in a Tris-glycine buffer at pH 8.3 are transferred with much greater efficiency than are proteins from untreated gels. The method has been shown to significantly enhance the electrophoretic transfer of polyoma viral proteins resolved in either acetic acid-urea or isoelectric-focusing gels to nitrocellulose membranes, and it is suggested that the method should have universal applicability to all gel electrophoresis systems currently employed. The proteins from isoelectric-focusing gels treated with SDS and transferred to nitrocellulose membranes were found to retain antigenicity to antisera prepared against either denatured or native viral proteins.     

Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromatin associated protein Yp20 is a guanine nucleotide binding protein

Yp20 is a 20kD protein whose role is still obscure which copurifies with yeast histones. Yeast histones were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and transferred to nitrocellulose. Incubation of the nitrocellulose blots with [gamma-35S] GTP gamma S demonstrated that Yp20 is a GTP binding protein. A polyclonal antiserum raised against purified Yp20 cross reacted with bacterially expressed cHras and T24 Hras genuine ras products. The results obtained suggest that Yp20 is a yeast chromatin associated ras-related antigen.