Pulse-chase biosynthetic radiolabeling of pancreatic islets to measure beta cell function

Abstract

Pulse-chase radiolabeling of cells with radioactive amino acids is a common method for studying the biosynthesis of proteins. The labeled proteins can then be immunoprecipitated and analyzed by electrophoresis and gel imaging techniques. This chapter presents a protocol for the biosynthetic labeling and immunoprecipitation of pancreatic islet proteins which are known to be affected in disorders such as diabetes, obesity, and metabolic syndrome.