Abstract
A sensitive method for detecting metallothioneins (MTs) by use of silver staining after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of carboxymethylated MTs was developed. Carboxymethylation of metallothioneins is indispensable because it prevents their aggregation, thereby allowing each of them to be detected as a single band by SDS-PAGE. However, when the gel was subjected to the silver-staining method of C. R. Merril, D. Goldman, S. A. Sedman, and M. H. Ebert [(1981) Science 211, 1437–1438], the image of carboxymethylated purified MTs was totally negative. Pretreatment of the gel with 1% sodium thiosulfate just prior to the silver-staining procedure successfully reversed the negative image of carboxymethylated MTs. Further, they could be detected with a limit of nanogram levels per lane. This method can be applied to MTs in cell extracts from cultured cell lines treated with cadmium or to those from liver of cadmium-intoxicated mice.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
