A substrate-optimized electrophoretic mobility shift assay for ADAM12

ADAM12 belongs to the A disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM) family of secreted sheddases activating extracellular growth factors such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) ligands and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). ADAM proteases, most notably ADAM17 (TNF-α-converting enzyme), have long been investigated as pharmaceutical drug targets; however, due to lack of potency and in vivo side effects, none of the small-molecule inhibitors discovered so far has made it beyond clinical testing. Ongoing research on novel selective inhibitors of ADAMs requires reliable biochemical assays to validate molecular probes from large-scale screening efforts. Here we describe an electrophoretic mobility shift assay for ADAM12 based on the identification of an optimized peptide substrate that is characterized by excellent performance and reproducibility.     

An electrophoretic mobility shift assay for methionine sulfoxide in proteins

Study of the posttranslational modification of methionine to its sulfoxide has been receiving increasing attention because of its implication in regulation of protein activity, but techniques for the detection of this modification remain limited. In particular, there has been no method to detect the oxidation of methionine on polyacrylamide gels. Here we demonstrate that alkylation of methionine introduces a charge change that shifts the mobility of the protein on an acidic gel relative to the alkylation-resistant sulfoxide form.     

Using FAM labeled DNA oligos to do RNA electrophoretic mobility shift assay

The electrophoretic mobility shift assay is a useful tool to identify proteins and nucleic acids interactions. Traditionally, the nucleic acids fragments are end-labeled with ³²P. We present here the use of fluorescent methodologies for studies of RNA in place of radioactivity. The method is highly sensitive and quantitative with the use of an infrared fluorescence imaging system. Fluorescently labeled primers can be used to monitor protein–RNA interactions by fluorescent mobility shift assays. The simplicity and validity of this approach may have more advantages than that of previous methods that traditionally used hazardous radioisotopes. This method was successfully tested in the study of the interactions between MS2 Coat Protein and its RNA target.     

A sensitive two-color electrophoretic mobility shift assay for detecting both nucleic acids and protein in gels

DNA-binding proteins are key to the regulation and control of gene expression, replication and recombination. The electrophoretic mobility shift assay (or gel shift assay) is considered an essential tool in modern molecular biology for the study of protein-nucleic acid interactions. As typically implemented, however, the technique suffers from a number of shortcomings, including the handling of hazardous (32)P-labeled DNA probes, and difficulty in quantifying the amount of DNA and especially the amount of protein in the gel. A new detection method for mobility-shift assays is described that represents a significant improvement over existing techniques. The assay is fast, simple, does not require the use of radioisotopes and allows independent quantitative determination of: (i) free nucleic acid, (ii) bound nucleic acid, (iii) bound protein, and (iv) free protein. Nucleic acids are detected with SYBR Green EMSA dye, while proteins are subsequently detected with SYPRO Ruby EMSA dye. All fluorescence staining steps are performed after the entire gel-shift experiment is completed, so there is no need to prelabel either the DNA or the protein and no possibility of the fluorescent reagents interfering with the protein-nucleic acid interactions. The ability to independently quantify each molecular species allows more rigorous data analysis methods to be applied, especially with respect to the mass of protein bound per nucleic acid.     

An electrophoretic mobility shift assay for the identification and kinetic analysis of acetyl transferase inhibitors

Histone acetyl transferases are important regulators of cellular homeostasis. This study describes a sensitive acetyl transferase electrophoretic mobility shift assay applicable both for kinetic analysis of acetyl transferase inhibitors and for high-throughput testing. Application of the assay for human GCN5L2 enabled dissection of inhibitor competition with respect to acetyl coenzyme A. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the assay can detect time-dependent inhibition of human GCN5L2 by reactive inhibitors.     

Identification of tissue-specific DNA-protein binding sites by means of two-dimensional electrophoretic mobility shift assay display

We developed a technique of differential electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) display allowing identification of tissue-specific protein-binding sites within long genomic sequences. Using this approach, we identified 10 cell type-specific protein-binding sites (protein target sites [PTSs]) within a 137-kb human chromosome 19 region. In general, tissue-specific binding of proteins from different nuclear extracts by individual PTSs did not follow the all-or-nothing principle. Most often, PTS-protein complexes were formed in all cases, but they were different for different nuclear extracts used.     

Assessment of small ligand-protein interactions by electrophoretic mobility shift assay using DNA-modified ligand as a sensing probe

The interaction between a small ligand and a protein were assessed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. A sensing probe was created by modifying the model ligand, biotin, with DNA. The complex of DNA-modified ligand and anti-biotin antibody or streptavidin as a target protein was analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. The band corresponding to the DNA-modified ligand was shifted in the presence of the target protein, and the intensities of the shifted bands were decreased by adding increasing concentrations of free ligand ranging from 0.1 μM to 100 μM. From this calibration the concentration of ligand in the samples could be determined, allowing for evaluation of the interaction between a small ligand and its target.     

Photoaffinity electrophoretic mobility shift assay using photoreactive DNA bearing 3-trifluoromethyl-3-phenyldiazirine in its phosphate backbone

Photoaffinity cross-linking enables the analysis of interactions between DNA and proteins even under denaturing conditions. We present a photoaffinity electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) in which two heterogeneous techniques―photoaffinity cross-linking using DNA bearing 3-trifluoromethyl-3-phenyldiazirine and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE) analysis—are combined. To prepare the photoreactive DNA, which is an essential tool for photoaffinity EMSA, we first determined the optimal conditions for the integration of 4-(3-trifluoromethyl-3H-diazirin-3-yl)benzyl bromide to the specific site of oligonucleotide where phosphodiester linkage was replaced with phosphorothioate linkage. The photoaffinity EMSA was developed using the POU (initial letters of three genes: Pit-l, Oct-1,2, and unc-86) domain region of Oct-1 protein, which specifically bound to octamer DNA motif (ATGCAAAT). The affinity-purified recombinant POU domain proteins conjugated with glutathione-S-transferase (GST) contained three distinct proteins with molecular weights of 34, 36, and 45 kDa. The photoaffinity EMSA could clearly distinguish the individual binding abilities of three proteins on a single lane and showed that the whole POU domain protein specifically bound to octamer DNA motif by competition experiments. Using the nuclear extract of HeLa cells, the photoaffinity EMSA revealed that at least five specific proteins could bind to the octamer DNA motif. These results show that photoaffinity EMSA using 3-trifluoromethyl-3-phenyldiazirine can provide high-performance analysis of DNA-binding proteins.     

Design of a fluorescent electrophoretic mobility shift assay improved for the quantitative and multiple analysis of protein-DNA complexes

We describe a protocol for the fluorescent electrophoretic mobility shift assay improved for the quantitative analysis of protein-DNA complexes. Fluorescent-labeled oligonucleotide probes incubated with nuclear proteins were followed by electrophoresis. The signals for protein-DNA complexes were measured and normalized with fluorescent-labeled marker using fragment analysis software. This assay proved reliable measurement and multiple detection of DNA binding proteins.     

A microfluidics-based mobility shift assay to discover new tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) play key roles in regulating tyrosine phosphorylation levels in cells. Since the discovery of PTP1B as a major drug target for diabetes and obesity, PTPs have emerged as a new and promising class of signaling targets for drug development in a variety of therapeutic areas. The routine use of generic substrate 6,8-difluoro-4-methylumbelliferyl phosphate (DiFMUP) in our hands led to the discovery of very similar and often not very selective molecules. Therefore, to increase the chances to discover novel chemical scaffolds, a side-by-side comparison between the DiFMUP assay and a chip-based mobility shift assay with a specific phosphopeptide was performed, on 1 PTP, using a focused set of compounds. Assay robustness and sensitivity were comparable for both the DiFMUP and mobility shift assays. The off-chip mobility shift assay required a longer development time because of identification, synthesis, and characterization of a specific peptide, and its cost per point was higher. However, although most potent scaffolds found with the DiFMUP assay were confirmed in the mobility shift format, the off-chip mobility shift assay led to the identification of previously unidentified chemical scaffolds with improved druglike properties.