Lactate Dehydrogenase: A Chapter Summary

Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is an enzyme involved in producing energy after the body has lost access to oxygen. LDH produces energy by helping to catalyze the reaction of NADH to NAD+ and does so by oxidation using pyruvate (1). LDH is found in highest concentrations in the heart, kidneys, lungs, blood cells and muscle tissues. Increases in LDH levels in the body have shown to be a marker of pain severity. This is because of tissue damage is the primary source of increasing LDH in the body. Thus making LDH levels an important marker not only for tissue damage but also the pain experienced (2).
Gel electrophoresis is a technique used to separate mixtures of dna/ proteins based on what type of gel is used. Agarose gels are typically used for separating DNA and RNA. While polyacrylamide is typically used to separate out proteins and tiny amounts of nucleic acids. Gel electrophoresis of macromolecules separates molecules based on size shape length and charge. Gel electrophoresis is facilitated by the
The concentration of the agarose mixed with the electrophoresis buffer determines the pore sizes and limits what molecules can pass. The lower the concentration of agarose goes it also increases pore sizes allowing previously unable large molecules to migrate down the gel and a faster migration rate for molecules that were already able to pass through. The opposite is also true the higher the percent agarose it the smaller the pore sizes, slowing down or reducing migration distance. The conformation or shape of the DNA fragment also plays a role in its migration distance. The less space DNA takes up means it will be less likely to get caught or slow down while going through the gel. When comparing nucleic acids of similar bp compact or supercoiled DNA travels the fastest and linear DNA travels at a faster rate than nicked open circular DNA would