Introduction to β-galactosidase staining

     Β-galactosidase is a hydrolase in cell lysosomes that hydrolyzes lactose into glucose and galactose. Its structural gene is LacZ, which forms a lactose operon with LacY (galactosidase) and LacA (galactosyltransacetylase), and acts as a repressor, operator, promoter, etc. in a specific lactose control system. In synergy, the regulation of the synthesis of β-galactosidase is governed. --galactosidase is generally found in the animal and plant kingdom. Clinically, β-galactosidase is high in renal proximal tubular epithelial cells. Urine beta-galactosidase activity can reflect the renal parenchyma, especially the early damage of the renal tubules, together with the urine N-acetyl β-D-glucosaminidase for urine zymography analysis, contribute to the course of disease observation and prognosis Evaluation. Such as the differential diagnosis of various kidney diseases, drug toxicity to the kidney, infection, shock, renal transplant rejection, acute tubular necrosis and other diseases early monitoring. Senescence associated with β-galactosidase SA- b-Gal: When the p H is 6, the positive rate of β-galactosidase staining increases with age. Neutral β 2 galactosidase is defined as senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA 2 β 2 gal). Growth inhibition induced by serum starvation does not increase the activity of SA 2 β 2 gal. The proliferation of skin fibroblasts in Werner syndrome patients is faster than normal in vitro, and the accumulation rate of SA 2 β 2 gal positive cells is also accelerate. Immortalized cells do not detect the activity of SA 2 β 2gal, and transgenic technology induces senescence of immortalized cells and also induces the activity of senescence-associated β 2 galactosidase. Moreover, the positive rate of senescence-associated β 2 galactosidase staining in skin tissue sections of elderly individuals is higher than that in young individuals. Based on the above observations, it is believed that this neutral β 2 galactosidase is a good biomarker for in vivo and in vitro aging studies.