A substrate-optimized electrophoretic mobility shift assay for ADAM12

ADAM12 belongs to the A disintegrin and metalloprotease (ADAM) family of secreted sheddases activating extracellular growth factors such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) ligands and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). ADAM proteases, most notably ADAM17 (TNF-α-converting enzyme), have long been investigated as pharmaceutical drug targets; however, due to lack of potency and in vivo side effects, none of the small-molecule inhibitors discovered so far has made it beyond clinical testing. Ongoing research on novel selective inhibitors of ADAMs requires reliable biochemical assays to validate molecular probes from large-scale screening efforts. Here we describe an electrophoretic mobility shift assay for ADAM12 based on the identification of an optimized peptide substrate that is characterized by excellent performance and reproducibility.