Simultaneous Electrophoretic Analysis of Proteins of Very High and Low Molecular Mass Using Tris-acetate Polyacrylamide Gels

To separate and analyze giant and small proteins in the same electrophoresis gel, we have used a 3-15% polyacrylamide gradient gel containing 2.6% of the crosslinker bisacrylamide and 0.2 M of Tris-acetate buffer (pH 7.0). Samples were prepared in a sample buffer containing lithium dodecyl sulphate and were run in the gel described above using Tris-Tricine-SDS-sodium bisulfite buffer, pH 8.2, as electrophoresis buffer. Here, we show that this system can be successfully used for general applications of SDS-PAGE such as CBB staining and immunoblot. Thus, by using Tris-acetate 3-15% polyacrylamide gels, it is possible to simultaneously analyze proteins, in the mass range of 10-500 kDa, such as HERC1 (532 kDa), HERC2 (528 kDa), mTOR (289 kDa), Clathrin heavy chain (192 kDa), RSK (90 kDa), S6K (70 kDa), beta-actin (42 kDa), Ran (24 kDa) and LC3 (18 kDa). This system is highly sensitive since it allows detection from as low as 10 microg of total protein per lane. Moreover, it has a good resolution, low cost, high reproducibility and allows for analysis of proteins in a wide range of weights within a short period of time. All these features together with the use of a standard electrophoresis apparatus make the Tris-acetate-PAGE system a very helpful tool for protein analysis.