Horizontal two-dimensional electrophoresis of plasma butyrylcholinesterase

Genetic variants of human plasma butyrylcholinesterase have been characterized and are highly relevant to anesthesiology. They might also represent potential genetic markers for neuropsychiatric disorders. Two-dimensional electrophoresis with isoelectrofocusing in the first and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the second dimension has proved to be a powerful tool in search for genetic variants. Butyrylcholinesterase is an oligomeric enzyme with considerable charge heterogeneity. Conventional two-dimensional electrophoresis proved unsuitable for this enzyme possibly due to its tendency to aggregate by hydrophobic interactions. The inversion of the sequence applying polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the first and isoelectric focusing in the second dimension circumvented this problem.