Analysis of differential protein expression in normal and neoplastic human breast epithelial cell lines

High resolution two dimensional get electrophoresis (2DE) and database analysis was used to establish protein expression patterns for cultured normal human mammary epithelial cells and thirteen breast cancer cell lines. The Human Breast Epithelial Cell database contains the 2DE protein patterns, including relative protein abundances, for each cell line, plus a composite pattern that contains all the common and specifically expressed proteins from all the cell lines. Significant differences in protein expression, both qualitative and quantitative, were observed not only between normal cells and tumor cells, but also among the tumor cell lines. Eight percent of the consistently detected proteins were found in significantly (P < 0.001) variable levels among the cell lines. Using a combination of immunostaining, comigration with purified protein, subcellular fractionation, and amino-terminal protein sequencing, we identified a subset of the differentially expressed proteins. These identified proteins include the cytoskeletal proteins actin, tubulin, vimentin, and cytokeratins. The cell lines can be classified into four distinct groups based on their intermediate filament protein profile. We also identified heat shock proteins; hsp27, hsp60, and hsp70 varied in abundance and in some cases in the relative phosphorylation levels among the cell lines. Finally, we identified IMP dehydrogenase in each of the cell lines, and found the levels of this enzyme in the tumor cell lines elevated 2- to 20-fold relative to the levels in normal cells

Procedures for two-dimensional electrophoresis of proteins

High-resolution two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) of proteins, using isoelectric focusing in the first dimension and sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) in the second, was first described in 1975. In the 20 years since those publications, numerous modifications of the original method have evolved. The ISO-DALT system of 2DE is a high-throughput approach that has stood the test of time. The problem of casting many isoelectric focusing gels and SDS-PAGE slab gels (up to 20) in a reproducible manner has been solved by the use of the techniques and equipment described in this manual. The ISO-DALT system of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis originated in the late 1970s and has been modified many times to improve its high-resolution, high-throughput capabilities. This report provides the detailed procedures used with the current ISO-DALT system to prepare, run, stain, and photograph two-dimensional gels for protein analysis