Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of membrane proteins

Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) is one of the most powerful separation techniques for complex protein solutions. The proteins are first separated according to their isoelectric point, driven by an electric field across a pH gradient. The pH gradient necessary for the separation according to isoelectric point (pL) is usually established by electrophoresing carrier ampholytes prior to and/or concomitantly with the sample. The second dimension is usually a separation according to molecular size. Mostly this separation is performed after complete denaturation of the proteins by sodium dodecyl sulfate and 2-mercaptoethanol (SDS-PAGE). This standard method has considerable disadvantages when relatively hydrophobic membrane proteins are to be separated: cathodic drift, resulting in nonreproducible separation, and the denaturation of the protein, mostly making it impossible to detect native properties of the proteins after separation (e.g., enzymatic activity, antigenicity, intact multimers, and so on). The protocols presented here take care of most of these obstacles. However, there is probably no universal procedure that can guarantee success at first try for any mixture of membrane proteins; some experimentation will be necessary for optimization. Two procedures are each presented: a denaturing (with urea) and a nondenaturing method for IEF in immobilized pH gradient gels using Immobilines, and a denaturing (with SDS and 2-mercaptoethanol) and a nondenaturing technique (with CHAPS) for the second dimension. Essential tips and tricks are presented to keep frustrations of the newcomer at a low level.