Complete Membrane Fractionation of 3T3-L1 Adipocytes

Abstract

Fractionation techniques can facilitate the isolation of intracellular organelles containing insulin-sensitive glucose transporter isoform 4 (GLUT4), which is mobilized from GLUT4 storage vesicles in fat and muscle cells in response to insulin. This protocol for the full membrane fractionation of 3T3-L1 adipocytes results in five distinct fractions. A heavy membrane-containing pellet is produced and then further separated into the plasma membrane, mitochondrial and nuclear, and high-density membrane fractions. The initial supernatant is subjected to a series of centrifugation steps to isolate the low-density membrane fraction, which contains the majority of the insulin-sensitive pool of GLUT4; the supernatant produced in this step is the soluble fraction. The distribution of GLUT4 in fractions from insulin-stimulated versus untreated cells is assessed via immunoblotting.