Sensitive colloidal metal (gold or silver) staining of protein blots on nitrocellulose membranes

A sensitive staining method for protein blots on nitrocellulose membranes is described and compared with commonly used dye staining methods. It uses colloidal metal sols (gold or silver) stabilized with Tween 20 and adjusted to pH 3. It is based on the selective high-affinity binding of colloidal metal particles to the proteins and produces a red-purplish color (gold) or dark grey (silver). The sensitivity of this new staining method is in the same range as silver staining of polyacrylamide gels and matches the sensitivity of overlay assays. It will therefore be a useful tool for correlating the position of bands or spots of proteins detected with overlay assays with the complete electropherogram in a duplicate protein blot.     

Evaluation of individual protein errors in silver-stained two-dimensional gels

The relationship between spot volume and variation for all protein spots observed on large format 2D gels when utilising silver stain technology and a model system based on mammalian NSO cell extracts is reported. By running multiple gels we have shown that the reproducibility of data generated in this way is dependent on individual protein spot volumes, which in turn are directly correlated with the coefficient of variation. The coefficients of variation across all observed protein spots were highest for low abundant proteins which are the primary contributors to process error, and lowest for more abundant proteins. Using the relationship between spot volume and coefficient of variation we show it is necessary to calculate variation for individual protein spot volumes. The inherent limitations of silver staining therefore mean that errors in individual protein spot volumes must be considered when assessing significant changes in protein spot volume and not global error.     

Silver stain for detecting 10-femtogram quantities of protein after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis

A rapid and highly sensitive silver stain and color stain were developed for visualizing proteins. The procedure is simple and the bands were clear. This silver stain detects 100 pg quantities of proteins. In order to stain quickly, sensitively, and sharply a protein matrix in a gel, the repeated shrinkage and swelling gel was developed with a hyper- and hypotonic solution to remove the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) from SDS-protein complex and to generate influx of staining solution into the gel. We have found that the silver staining method with the repeated exposure to hyper- and hypotonic solution and a narrow well produced 10 fg order of proteins.     

Silver stain for proteins on a cellulose acetate membrane

A rapid and sensitive silver staining method to detect proteins on a cellulose acetate membrane has been established. This method is achieved by modification of the silver-based color staining for detection of proteins in polyacrylamide gels [D. W. Sammons, L. D. Adams, and E. E. Nishizawa, Electrophoresis 2, 135-141 (1981)] and applied to our new type of two-dimensional electrophoresis for analysis of proteins on a cellulose acetate sheet [T. Toda, T. Fujita, and M. Ohashi, Anal. Biochem. 119, 167-176 (1982)]. Maximal sensitivity of silver stain for proteins on a cellulose acetate membrane can be obtained by an optimal balance between deposition of silver on the protein and on the background. Certain kinds of proteins are colored red, orange, or grayish-blue. The silver stain is 20-80 times more sensitive than Coomassie blue and some spots are visualized reproducibly by silver only. Densitometric evaluation of standard proteins stained with silver and Coomassie blue is also demonstrated. The method takes only 50 min to perform and is sensitive, simple, and reproducible.     

Requirement for cysteine in the color silver staining of proteins in polyacrylamide gels

To determine whether cysteine residues have a contribution to the mechanism of color silver staining, we silver stained sodium dodecylsulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis separations of proteins which have few or no cysteines. Proteins without cysteine stained negatively (yellow against a yellow background) with silver. Proteins with one or more cysteines stained orange, red, brown, or green/gray depending on the mole percentage of cysteine and whether they contained covalently attached lipids. The colors could not be correlated with the mole percentages of cysteine of these proteins indicating that some components other than cysteine affect the staining color of cysteine-containing proteins. Silver staining of amino acids, sugars, nucleotide bases, or lipopolysaccharide dot-blotted onto nitrocellulose paper implicated adenine, lipids, the basic amino acids, and glutamine, but not sugars or other amino acids in silver/protein complexes.     

Applications of immunocolloids in light microscopy. IV. Use of photochemical silver staining in a simple and efficient double-staining technique

We report the development of a new light-microscopic double-staining technique using colloidal gold as sole marker. The contrasting color to the red of colloidal gold is achieved by the application of photochemical silver reaction. The silver reaction, which is principally performed at the end of the first staining sequence, converts the red color of a gold-labeled reagent into black. This contrasts clearly with the red coloration that results from the second incubation sequence without silver reaction. For antigen double staining, the same protein A-gold complex can be used to provide the black and the red color, thus rendering the technique very economical. Alternatively, combination of protein A-gold immunolocalization and lectin-gold staining is possible, as is combined lectin-gold staining.     

The basis for colored silver-protein complex formation in stained polyacrylamide gels

Using a modified silver stain of Merril et al. [(1981) Science 211, 1437-1438] for staining polypeptides in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels, protein bands reproducibly stain different shades of blue, yellow, red, and gray. The procedure is highly temperature dependent, with optimal color formation at 42 degrees C. The procedure may be completed within 2 h. Color formation is due to silver ion complexes with charged amino acid side chains. The color of the silver-protein complex can be predicted if the amino acid sequence is known, although some exceptions are discussed. This provides another dimension to the characterization of proteins by gel electrophoresis.     

Procedures for specific detection of silver-stained nucleolar proteins on western blots.

Nucleolar organizer region (NOR)-silver staining of the chromosomes and nucleoli is a method that enables the detection of proteins associated with the ribosomal genes. We adapted the most commonly used cytochemical NOR-silver staining techniques to Western-blotted proteins of HeLa cells, mimicking the silver staining of cells in situ, and testing several parameters that may influence the in situ reaction. Two of these techniques, both one-step methods with colloidal developers, were standardized to obtain reproducible results. The specificity of NOR staining is documented by: (a) only a few bands are revealed among the many proteins detected by total proteins staining on gels or blots; two major groups of bands are found around 100 KD and 40 KD that could correspond at least in part to nucleolin and B23 nucleolar proteins; (b) the silver staining of bands was not the result of the high relative protein concentrations; and (c) the same number of NOR-silver-stained bands was observed across a large range of protein concentrations. The reaction appeared to be specific for a subset of nucleolar proteins, because the same bands were observed with the use of nucleolar, nuclear, or total cell protein extracts, and the silver grains observed in electron microscopy were clearly confined to the nucleolar fibrillar centers and dense fibrillar component. The efficiency of the reaction was not modified by any of the tested fixative pre-treatments except that involving methanol. The presented standardization of NOR-silver staining on Western blots allows the characterization of the Ag-NOR proteins and their specific regions responsible for silver staining of the nucleolus.     

Ammoniacal silver staining of proteins: mechanism of glutaraldehyde enhancement

When the conditions for detecting proteins by ammoniacal silver staining (B. R. Oakley, D. R. Kirsch, and N. R. Morris (1980) Anal. Biochem. 105, 361-363.) following gel electrophoresis were varied, it was noted that glutaraldehyde pretreatment was necessary for maximal staining, which could not be explained simply as the result of "fixation." Further studies indicated that glutaraldehyde enhancement of protein staining with this silver reagent was probably due to oxidation of the aldehyde groups by silver ions, resulting in metallic silver depositions within the gel which act as nucleation sites for additional metallic silver localization in the protein bands upon the addition of formaldehyde developer. This proposed mechanism is consistent with the Tollen's reaction, as well as some aspects of the photographic process. Consistent with this notion, silver-staining intensities are directly related to mole percentage lysine of various standard proteins.     

Analysis of differences between coomassie blue stain and silver stain procedures in polyacrylamide gels: conditions for the detection of calmodulin and troponin C

It is reported that the conditions used in some silver stain procedures can fail to detect calmodulin, troponin C, and other proteins with similar physical properties. Conditions are described that allow the reproducible detection of these proteins. Two phenomena are described: (1) lack of protein staining when treatment with glutaraldehyde is omitted from the protocol, and (2) loss of small proteins from the gel matrix during prolonged washing procedures. These data directly demonstrate that the use of some silver staining protocols can result in misleading data in biological studies and provide an explanation for at least one class of proteins of how silver staining and Coomassie blue staining of gels can give different results.     

Nucleolin is an Ag-NOR protein; this property is determined by its amino-terminal domain independently of its phosphorylation state.

The Ag-NOR proteins are defined as markers of "active" ribosomal genes. They correspond to a set of proteins specifically located in the nucleolar organizer regions (NORs), but have not yet been clearly identified. We adapted the specific detection method of the Ag-NOR proteins to Western blots in order to identify these proteins. Using a purified protein, Western blots, and immunological characterization, the present study brings the first direct evidence leading to the identity of one Ag-NOR protein. We found that nucleolin is specifically revealed by Ag-NOR staining. Using different nucleolin fragments generated by CNBr cleavage and by overexpression in Escherichia coli, we demonstrate that the amino-terminal domain of nucleolin and not the carboxy-part of the protein is involved in silver staining. Moreover, as the pattern of staining does not vary using casein kinase II- and cdc2-phosphorylated nucleolin or dephosphorylated nucleolin, we conclude that the reduction of the silver ions is not linked to the phosphorylation state of the molecule. We propose that the concentration of acidic amino acids in the amino-terminal domain of nucleolin is responsible for Ag-NOR staining. This hypothesis is also supported by the finding that poly L-glutamic acid peptides are silver stained. These results provide data that can be used to explain the specificity of Ag-NOR staining. Furthermore, we clearly establish that proteolysis of the amino-terminal Ag-NOR-sensitive part of nucleolin occurs in vitro, leading to the accumulation of the carboxy-terminal Ag-NOR-negative part of the protein. We argue that this cleavage occurs in vivo as already proposed, bearing in mind that nucleolin is present in the fibrillar and in the granular component of the nucleolus, whereas no Ag-NOR staining is observed in the latter nucleolar component.     

Colloidal Silver Staining of Electroblotted Proteins for High Sensitivity Peptide Mapping by Liquid Chromatography–Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Mass spectrometric techniques for the identification of proteins either by amino acid sequencing or by correlation of mass spectral data with sequence databases are becoming increasingly sensitive and are rapidly approaching the limit of detection achieved by the staining of proteins in gels or, after electroblotting, on membranes. Here we present a technique for the sensitive staining of proteins electroblotted onto nitrocellulose or polyvinylidene difluoride membranes and enzymatic cleavage conditions for such proteins to achieve optimal recovery of peptides. The technique is based on the deposition of colloidal silver on the membrane-bound proteins. Peptide mixtures generated by proteolysis on the membrane were recovered at high yields and were compatible with analysis by reverse-phase chromatography and on-line electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. This simple and rapid colloidal silver staining procedure allowed the visualization of less than 5 ng of protein in a band and thus approached the sensitivity of silver staining in gels. We demonstrate that this method allows the detection of subpicomole amounts of electroblotted proteins and their identification by high-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry.     

Sialoglycoproteins with a high amount of O-glycosidically linked carbohydrate moieties stain yellow with silver in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels

Several sialoglycoproteins and human salivary proteins were analyzed in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels using the silver/Coomassie-staining protocol (J. K. Dzandu, M. E. Deh, D. L. Barratt, and G. E. Wise, 1984, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81, 1733-1737) to determine the extent to which yellow Ag staining originally reported for human red blood cell glycophorins can be applied to other sialoglycoproteins. Results showed that not all sialoglycoproteins elicit a positive yellow color in the silver stain reaction. Some of the sialoglycoproteins stained as brown or negative images in the Ag-staining cycle. Alkaline beta elimination of O-glycosidically linked carbohydrate chains of glycophorin resulted in the loss of yellow color development in the Ag-staining protocol. Analysis of acidic salivary proteins showed several yellow Ag-stained bands at Mr X 10(-3) = 150, 82, 70, 51, 46, and 42. These results suggest that the carbohydrate moieties of glycophorin removable by alkaline beta elimination are responsible for the characteristic yellow color in the Ag stain reaction. In addition, under our staining conditions sialoglycoproteins with a high amount of O-glycosidically linked carbohydrate chains give a characteristic yellow silver stain.     

Silver staining of proteins in polyacrylamide gels

Silver staining is used to detect proteins after electrophoretic separation on polyacrylamide gels. It combines excellent sensitivity (in the low nanogram range) with the use of very simple and cheap equipment and chemicals. It is compatible with downstream processing, such as mass spectrometry analysis after protein digestion. The sequential phases of silver staining are protein fixation, then sensitization, then silver impregnation and finally image development. Several variants of silver staining are described here, which can be completed in a time range from 2 h to 1 d after the end of the electrophoretic separation. Once completed, the stain is stable for several weeks.     

Abundance of protein-bound sulfhydryl and bisulfide groups at chromosomal nucleolus organizing regions

Silver stainability of the chromosomal nucleolus organizing regions that contain the structural genes for ribosomal RNA can be abolished by proteolytic and oxidative treatments. Histone extraction has no effect. This indicates that reducing groups of non-histone chromosomal proteins are responsible for silver staining. Treatment with fluorescent sulfhydryl and disulfide specific reagents followed by silver staining demonstrates coincidence of silver dots and brightly fluorescent spots at the short arms of human acrocentric chromosomes where ribosomal RNA-genes are located. After treatment with cupric sulfite reagent in the presence of urea fluorescence and silver staining was no longer possible. Silver staining has been reported to be associated with ribosomal RNA-gene activity. Acrocentric chromosomes that are negative in silver staining also lack the brightly fluorescent spots. Therefore, we conclude that an abundance of protein-bound sulfhydryl and disulfide groups occur at nucleolar organizing regions with active genes. Differentially fluorescing spots could not be observed after staining with fluorescamine. So, either the sulfhydryl reagents used in this study are much more sensitive than fluorescamine to study protein distributions in cytological preparations, or our observations point to a local accumulation of some specific protein(s) rich in sulfhydryls. The presence of many sulfhydryl and disulfide groups at the nucleolus organizing regions seems suggestive of a great flexibility of protein(s) by transition of sulfhydryl groups to disulfide bridges and vice versa at these highly active regions of the genome.     

雌核发育银鲫与两性生殖彩鲫卵壳蛋白组分的比较分析及其受精前后的变化

以雌核发育银鲫和两性生殖彩鲫的成熟卵为材料,分离卵壳,经处理得到卵壳可溶性蛋白组分。SDS－PAGE梯度凝胶电泳分析在雌核发育银鲫中揭示出3条较明显的差异蛋白带。同时,采用相同处理方法对受精前后卵壳蛋白组分进行比较分析后发现,这些差异蛋白带在受精后发生了变化,其带纹表现为减弱或消失,表明这些差异蛋白可能与受精过程相关。 Abstracts:Egg chorions were isolated from unfertilized and fertilized eggs of gynogenetic silver crucian carp and gonochoristic color crucian carp by homogenization and further purification techniques.Then,soluble proteins were extracted from the isolated egg chorions,and were analyzed by gradient SDS-PAGE.Three differential protein bands were revealed between the gynogenetic silver crucian carp and gonochoristic color crucian carp.Furthermore,these differential proteins were demonstrated to undergo obvious changes during fertilization.It was suggested that these differential proteins should be related to the special fertilization process in gynogenetic silver crucian carp.     

Sensitive, quantitative, and fast modifications for Coomassie Blue staining of polyacrylamide gels

In spite of the high sensitivity of silver staining and the wide dynamic range of various fluorescent detection methods, Coomassie Brilliant Blue staining is still the most widely used protein detection technique for proteins separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. There are several reasons: Low price, Visible with the eye, Desk top scanners can be employed for image acquisition, Better for quantitative analysis than silver staining, Possible modifications for fast or highly sensitive staining, Mass spectrometry compatible.     

Artifactual sulfation of silver-stained proteins: implications for the assignment of phosphorylation and sulfation sites

Sulfation and phosphorylation are post-translational modifications imparting an isobaric 80-Da addition on the side chain of serine, threonine, or tyrosine residues. These two post-translational modifications are often difficult to distinguish because of their similar MS fragmentation patterns. Targeted MS identification of these modifications in specific proteins commonly relies on their prior separation using gel electrophoresis and silver staining. In the present investigation, we report a potential pitfall in the interpretation of these modifications from silver-stained gels due to artifactual sulfation of serine, threonine, and tyrosine residues by sodium thiosulfate, a commonly used reagent that catalyzes the formation of metallic silver deposits onto proteins. Detailed MS analyses of gel-separated protein standards and Escherichia coli cell extracts indicated that several serine, threonine, and tyrosine residues were sulfated using silver staining protocols but not following Coomassie Blue staining. Sodium thiosulfate was identified as the reagent leading to this unexpected side reaction, and the degree of sulfation was correlated with increasing concentrations of thiosulfate up to 0.02%, which is typically used for silver staining. The significance of this artifact is discussed in the broader context of sulfation and phosphorylation site identification from in vivo and in vitro experiments.     

Influence of the protein staining in the fast ultrasonic sample treatment for protein identification through peptide mass fingerprint and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry

The influence of the protein staining used to visualize protein bands, after in-gel protein separation, for the correct identification of proteins by peptide mass fingerprint (PMF) after application of the ultrasonic in-gel protein protocol was studied. Coomassie brilliant blue and silver nitrate, both visible stains, and the fluorescent dyes Sypro Red and Sypro Orange were evaluated. Results obtained after comparison with the overnight in-gel protocol showed that good results, in terms of protein sequence coverage and number of peptides matched, can be obtained with anyone of the four stains studied. Two minutes of enzymatic digestion time was enough for proteins stained with coomassie blue, while 4 min was necessary when silver or Sypro stainings were employed in order to reach equivalent results to those obtained for the overnigh in-gel protein protocol. For the silver nitrate stain, the concentration of silver present in the staining solution must be 0.09% (w/v) to minimize background in the MALDI mass spectra.