Rapid Screening of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Phosphosignaling Pathway via Microplate-Based Dot Blot Assays

Expression profiling on a large scale, as is the case in drug discovery, is often accomplished through use of sophisticated solid-phase protein microarrays or multiplex bead technologies. While offering both high-throughput and high-content analysis, these platforms are often too cost prohibitive or technically challenging for many research settings. Capitalizing on the favorable attributes of the standard ELISA and slot blotting techniques, we developed a modified dot blot assay that provides a simple cost-effective alternative for semiquantitative expression analysis of multiple proteins across multiple samples. Similar in protocol to an ELISA, but based in a membrane bound 96-well microplate, the assay takes advantage of vacuum filtration to expedite the tedious process of washing in between binding steps. We report on the optimization of the assay and demonstrate its use in profiling temporal changes in phosphorylation events in the well-characterized EGF-induced signaling cascade of A431 cells.