Abstract
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are formed through the reaction/modification of proteins by saccharides (e.g., glucose and fructose) and their intermediate/non-enzymatic products [e.g., methylglyoxal and glyceraldehyde (GA)]. In 2017, Dr. Takanobu Takata et al. developed the novel slot blot method to quantify intracellular GA-derived AGEs (GA-AGEs). Although the original method required nitrocellulose membranes, we hypothesized that the modified proteins contained in the AGEs may be effectively probed on polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes. Because commercial lysis buffers are unsuitable for this purpose, Dr. Takata developed the slot blot method using an in-house-prepared lysis buffer containing 2-amino-2-hydromethyl-1,3-propanediol (Tris), urea, thiourea, and 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)-dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (CHAPS) that effectively probes AGEs onto PVDF membranes. The slot blot method also entails the calculation of Tris, urea, thiourea, and CHAPS concentrations, as well as protein and mass to be probed onto the PVDF membranes. GA-AGE-modified bovine serum albumin (BSA, GA-AGEs-BSA) is used to draw a standard curve and perform neutralization against a non-specific combination of anti-GA-AGEs antibodies, thereby enabling the quantification of GA-AGEs in cell lysates. This paper presents the detailed protocol for slot blot analysis of intracellular GA-AGE levels in C2C12 cells. Key features • This protocol leverages the idea that advanced glycation end products are modified proteins. • The lysis buffer containing Tris, urea, thiourea, and CHAPS enables probing proteins onto PVDF membranes. • Intracellular GA-AGE levels may be quantified for some cell types using polyclonal anti-GA-AGE antibodies and standard GA-AGE-modified BSA. • The lysis buffer may be simultaneously prepared with the cell lysate. • There is no limit to the type of cultured cells used in the preparation of cell lysate.