Microscale sample preparation.
The demand for microscale analysis has stimulated the development of new solid phase formats in sample preparation.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗
Biomedical subjects
M G Pluskal
Publications and source records attributed to M G Pluskal.
Immobilon-Ny+ nucleic acid blotting membrane: an advanced nylon membrane optimized for superior fixation and reprobing.
The use of charged nylon membranes in nucleic acid blotting applications has become an important factor in the success of hybridization-based assays. Retention of nucleic acids on these membranes is promoted by baking at 80 degrees C under vacuum or by exposure to short wavelength UV light, with the latter method preferred. Immobilon-Ny+ is an advanced, positively charged nylon membrane that has been optimized to show superior retention of target DNA and RNA under hybridization conditions. Higher signal levels are obtained in these assays compared to competitive membranes, even after 13 cycles of probing. This report illustrates the superior performance of Immobilon-Ny+ in 32P and chemiluminescent hybridization assays on blotted DNA and RNA.
Blotting, Northern↗
The use of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for the analysis of acidic glycans labeled with the fluorophore 2-aminoacridone.
A method is described for the electrophoretic analysis of fluorophore-labeled acidic glycans. Various glycoproteins were treated with the enzyme, peptide N-glycosidase F, to release mixtures of asparagine-linked glycans that were then labeled with the fluorophore 2-aminoacridone, and the resulting derivatives electrophoresed in high-density polyacrylamide gels. The acidic glycans were separated with high resolution and distinct, well-resolved fluorescent band patterns were produced. Neutral saccharides did not electrophorese in the system. Information on the structure of the glycans was revealed by the changes in the band patterns observed after the mixtures of the glycan fluorophore derivatives were treated with either of the enzymes neuraminidase or beta-galactosidase. Quantities of glycoprotein as little as 10 micrograms were analysed without difficulty. The electrofluorograms were viewed using a digital imaging system based on a cooled charge-coupled device. The method was also demonstrated using purified acidic glycans of known structure. The method was easy to use, enabled the sensitive analysis of multiple samples in parallel and should be a useful addition to the range of glycan analytical techniques.
Acids↗
Development of a dedicated two-dimensional gel electrophoresis system that provides optimal pattern reproducibility and polypeptide resolution.
The development of a dedicated two-dimensional gel electrophoresis system is described that provides superior performance in terms of high resolving power and enhanced gel-to-gel reproducibility. Isoelectric focusing is performed in a 1-mm capillary tube with a 0.08-mm thread, optimized for this application, incorporated along its length prior to polymerization of the gel matrix. The isoelectric focusing gel is 4% T, 2.6% C to minimize sieving of proteins and promote adhesion of the gel to the thread. The thread incorporated in the isoelectric focusing matrix prevents gel stretching and breakage during its application to the second dimension. An optimum ampholyte pH range has been defined based on 1600 polypeptides present in a transformed fibroblast cell lysate and verified using a variety of other cell types. The length of time required to complete an electrophoretic separation in the second dimension was found to depend on buffer conductivity establishing the importance of high quality electrophoresis grade reagents devoid of contaminating salts. To ensure reproducibility of electrophoretic separations, it is critical to maintain a strict control of temperature during the second dimension separation. This prevents altered migration of some polypeptides relative to neighboring polypeptides that have constant Rfs over a broad temperature range. It was also determined that to obtain the maximum information from a complex protein mixture it is critical to use a large format 22- x 22-cm two-dimensional electrophoretic system. Using the optimized two-dimensional electrophoretic system and computerized gel analysis, it was determined that molecular weight estimates of polypeptides differed by approximately 350 daltons between gels, while isoelectric point estimates differed by approximately 0.03 pH units between gels. Using the two-dimensional electrophoresis system described, approximately 1000 polypeptides can be routinely detected from silver-stained 10% polyacrylamide gels or 1600 polypeptides from autoradiographs of 35S-methionine-labeled polypeptides.
Autoradiography↗
High-performance ion-exchange chromatography of myosin using a DEAE-5PW column.
High-performance ion-exchange chromatography of myosin using a DEAE-5PW packing was used to purify myosin from skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscle. This method produces high-speed resolution (30-min analysis) of myosin from contaminating myofibrillar proteins. The column has a high capacity for binding myosin (up to 1 g) and can be used for small-scale preparation of highly purified myosin. Gel analysis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate showed recovery of myosin with very little contamination of other myofibrillar proteins. Myosin was also recovered from small biopsy samples (0.1 g) by a direct extraction technique with recovery of biological ATPase activity.
Animals↗
The cytoplasmic 4S translation inhibitory RNA species of chick embryonic muscle: fractionation of biologically active subspecies by high performance liquid chromatography.
A 4S RNA species (iRNA) isolated from chick embryonic muscle which is a potent inhibitor of mRNA translation in vitro shows heterogeneity in the 70-100 nucleotide size range (Sarkar, S., Mukherjee, A.K., and Guha, C. (1981) J. Biol. Chem., 256, 5077-5086). The iRNA was fractionated by HPLC on different size exclusion columns using a variety of elution conditions. Chromatography of iRNA on a TSK 4000 SW column and elution with a low ionic strength buffer gave three components, one of which contained a pure subspecies of about 90-100 nucleotides size, as shown by a single band on PAGE analysis in 99% formamide. The biological activity of this purified subspecies showed that this is a more potent inhibitor of globin mRNA translation than unfractionated iRNA (Sarkar, S., Mukherjee, A.K., and Guha, C., (1981) J. Biol. Chem. 256, 5077-5086). Partial resolution of three additional low molecular weight iRNA subspecies in the 70-80 nucleotide size range in biologically active form was obtained on chromatography of unfractionated iRNA on TSK 4000 SW column in the presence of 0.5 M NaCl or on TSK 3000 SW column in the presence of low salt. The fractionation of iRNA by HPLC appears to be primarily based on size. These results strongly suggest that HPLC may also be useful for the fractionation of a variety of low molecular weight eukaryotic nuclear and cytoplasmic RNAs with retention of biological activity.
Animals↗
Protein synthesis studies in skeletal muscle of aging rats. I. Alterations in nitrogen composition and protein synthesis using a crude polyribosome and pH 5 enzyme system.
The effect of aging on rat skeletal muscle protein synthesis was studied using a cell-free system. The activity of crude polyribosomes from hind-limb skeletal muscle was reduced by 40% in aged animals (22 to 24 months) and by 20% in the mature (12 months) animal compared with young (2 month) rats. In a poly Uridylic-acid-directed incorporation system the ribosomes from aged and mature animals showed a decrease in activity. Sucrose density gradient analysis also demonstrated a loss of heavy polyribosomes in aged and mature animals. The pH 5 enzyme fraction from aged and mature animals was less efficient than that from young rats in support of protein synthesis, suggesting a decreased activity of soluble factors. In conclusion, aging leads to a progressive decline in the efficiency of protein synthesis, associated with both the ribosome and soluble fractions of the cell.
Age Factors↗
Protein synthesis studies in skeletal muscle of aging rats. II. In vitro studies with 0.5M potassium chloride washed polyribosomes.
To investigate further the age-related reduction in muscle protein synthesis activity found previously using a crude polyribosome/pH 5 system (Pluskal et al., 1984), a 0.5M KCl washing procedure was utilized to remove the nonribosomal factors from polyribosomes isolated from male Sprague-Dawley rats in the following age groups: young (1 to 2 months), mature (12 months), and aged (22 to 24 months). Using a common source of enriched elongation factor fraction from young animals, it was not possible to demonstrate any significant difference (p greater than .05) in protein synthesis between the 0.5M KCl-washed polyribosomes isolated from the various age groups. Using a cell-free system containing young salt washed polyribosomes stimulated by the addition of 0.5M KCl-wash fractions, however, it was shown that the mature and aged salt-wash fractions were less (p less than .05) active than material from young animals. Thus, the observed decline in protein synthesis efficiency during aging may be attributed to a reduced capacity to promote initiation/elongation by the nonribosomal salt wash fractions of muscle polyribosomes.
Aging↗
Correlation between protein phenotype and gene expression in adult rabbit fast twitch muscles undergoing a fast to slow fiber transformation in response to electrical stimulation in vivo.
In this report we have defined three distinct stages of the fast to slow transformation of muscle in terms of the myosin isoenzyme pattern in a non-denaturing gel system. In phase I a rearrangement of fast isoenzymes with no increase in slow isoforms took place. Phase II is characterised by a complex pattern of fast and slow isoenzymes and of isoenzymes of intermediate mobility. Phase III shows full conversion to the slow isoform with residual traces of fast and intermediate components. Changes in myosin light chains, as revealed by two dimensional gel analysis, showed good correlation with their corresponding mRNAs as determined by translation of extracted total RNA in a nuclease treated reticulocyte lysate cell-free system. This suggests that in the fast to slow transformation gene expression is regulated at the level of transcription.
Animals↗
Generation of phosphodiesters during fast-to-slow muscle transformation. A 31P-NMR study.
During rabbit fast-to-slow twitch muscle transformation, in response to electrical stimulation, the compound glycerophosphocholine can be detected in these muscles by 31P-NMR. This compound is not detectable in contralateral control muscles but is present in slow twitch soleus.
Animals↗
Cytoplasmic low molecular weight ribonucleic acid species of chick embryonic muscles, a potent inhibitor of messenger ribonucleic acid translation in vitro.
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Animals↗
A model of translational control involving mRNA-associated proteins in chick embryonic muscles.
Highly purified poly(A)-containing free and polysomal mRNP particles have been isolated by chromatography of subcellular fractions of chick embryonic muscles on oligo-dT-cellulose and elution with low salt buffer at 45 degrees. The free and polysomal mRNP represent two distinct classes of macromolecules, the free particles having a more complex nucleoprotein organization than the polysomal particles. Comparison of the protein moieties of three classes of poly(A)-containing cytoplasmic mRNP -- those released from nuclei after in vitro transcription and processing (transported mRNP), the free, and polysomal mRNP -- strongly suggests that the majority of the mRNA-associated proteins are exchanged in the cytoplasm during the various functional states of mRNA. A model of translational control involving the participation of mRNA-associated proteins in chick embryonic muscles and by analogy in other differentiated eukaryotic cells is proposed.
Animals↗
Thermal chromatography of eukaryotic messenger ribonucleoprotein particles on oligo (dT)-cellulose. Evidence for common mRNA-associated proteins in various cell types.
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Animals↗
Isolation of an oligonucleotide, a potent inhibitor of eukaryotic and viral messenger ribonucleic acid translation, from chick embryonic muscle [proccedings].
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Animals↗
Early changes in the ultrastructure of denervated rat skeletal muscle.
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Animals↗
Studies on increased acid hydrolase activities in denervated muscle.
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Animals↗
Protein synthesis by ribosomes from normal and denervated red and white muscle.
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Animals↗
Some biochemical responses of rat skeletal muscle to a single subcutaneous injection of a toxin (notexin) isolated from the venom of the Australian tiger snake Notechis scutatus scutatus.
1. Some biochemical responses of mammalian skeletal muscle to a single subcutaneous injection of a purified toxin from the venom of the Australian tiger snake, Notechis scutatus scutatus, have been investigated to determine the role of changes in peptide hydrolase enzymes in the muscle wasting caused by notexin administration. 2. Within 6 h of injection, serum creatine kinase activity was increased by five- to ten-fold, and remained elevated for at least 24 h. 3. There was an initial inflammatory response in the muscle adjacent to the site of injection; by 12 h after injection, muscle wet weight increased by 60%. 4. After the initial increase, wet weight fell to about 50% of normal at 7 days. Normal wet weight was achieved by 20 days after the injection. Over the period 1-20 days after the injection of the toxin, the changes in wet weight were mirrored by changes in non-collagen protein content. 5. The activities of cathepsin B and acid proteinase were increased following the injection of the toxin. By 2 days after injection, there was a ten-fold increase in the activity of cathepsin B, and a seven-fold increase in the activity of acid proteinase. The activity of both enzymes become normal by 20 days. 6. Experiments utilizing a variety of cytotoxic drugs suggested that the acid proteinase and cathespin B are primarily located within invading phagocytic cells. 7. The results are discussed with reference to the previously described pathology of toxin-damaged skeletal muscle.
Animals↗