Direct analysis of retinal dehydrogenase activity on an electroblotting membrane following separation by non-denaturing two-dimensional electrophoresis.

The reaction from retinal to retinoic acid catalyzed by retinal dehydrogenase on a polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membrane was examined using laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (LDI-TOF MS) when the enzyme was separated by non-denaturing two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), transferred onto the membrane, and stained without impairing the enzyme activity. Furthermore, the enzyme was analyzed by de novo sequencing using electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) after proteins from mouse liver were separated by non-denaturing 2-DE, blotted onto the membrane, and stained. The results indicated that the reported methods could be applied for the direct examination of changes in retinoid catalyzed by enzymes on such membranes.