Zymography Gel Electrophoresis: An Electrophoretic Technique to Detect Matrix Metalloproteinases by Assessing the Enzymatic Activity

Published: April 30, 2023

Abstract

Source: Hu, X. et al., Detection of Functional Matrix Metalloproteinases by Zymography. J. Vis. Exp. (2010)

This video demonstrates the zymography gel electrophoresis technique to assess the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) present in cell culture supernatant. The active MMPs degrade the MMP-specific substrate embedded in a polyacrylamide gel, which appears as clear bands against a dark stained background following staining.

Protocol

1. Loading and Running the Gel All samples must be prepared adequately to maintain the function of the enzymes and used immediately after collection or stored frozen at -80°C. The samples must not contain reducing agents (such a β-mercaptoethanol) or be boiled before gel loading. Open the pouch containing a gel inside a cassette, rinse the cassette with deionized water. Remove the protective tape from the bottom of the cassette and the comb from the top of the …

Disclosures

The authors have nothing to disclose.

Materials

Xcell SureLock Mini-Cell CE mark electrophoresis apparatus Invitrogen EI0001
Power supply (model 302) VWR 93000-744
Novex 10% gelatin zymogram gels, 1.0 mm, 12 wells Invitrogen EC61752BOX
Blue Juice gel loading buffer Invitrogen 10816015
Gel loading tips VWR 53509-015
Protein molecular weight standard Invitrogen LC5800
Novex Tris-Glycine-SDS running buffer Invitrogen LC2675
Novex zymogram renaturing buffer Invitrogen LC2670
Novex zymogram developing buffer Invitrogen LC2671
SimplyBlue SafeStain Invitrogen LC6060

Play Video

Cite This Article
Zymography Gel Electrophoresis: An Electrophoretic Technique to Detect Matrix Metalloproteinases by Assessing the Enzymatic Activity. J. Vis. Exp. (Pending Publication), e21120, doi: (2023).

View Video