Prefractionation enhances loading capacity and identification of basic proteins from human breast cancer tissues

Many basic proteins (pI>7) and putative disease biomarkers are not identified using conventional proteomic methods. This study applied a new method to improve the identification of such proteins. Prefractionated basic proteins were compared with total tissue lysates from human ductal carcinoma in situ tissue loaded on basic immobilized pH gradient strips prior to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). Extraction of alkaline proteins was achieved in less than 20 min using a chromatofocusing resin and two buffers in a microcentrifuge tube. Prefractionation showed improved resolution and visualization of low-abundance proteins on 2-DE gels, allowing proteins to be excised, accumulated, trypsin-digested, and identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Proteins identified in the prefractionated samples had a higher number of peptides and three times the number of unique basic proteins when compared with total lysates. Low-molecular-weight (LMW, <26kDa) unique alkaline proteins comprise 75% of those identified in prefractionated samples compared with 25% identified in total lysates, representing a 9-fold increase of LMW proteins due to prefractionation. Prefractionation ultimately increases loading capacity of samples onto the 2-DE gel and leads to better resolution, visualization, and identification of proteins with pI values greater than 7.