Acidic Mammalian Chitinase Activity Kit (Fluorometric)

Acidic Mammalian Chitinase (AMCase) and Chitotriosidase-1(CHIT1) are the only two mammalian active chitinases that belong to the glycosyl hydrolase-18 family (EC 3.2.1.14). They are chitin-fragmenting hydrolases that hydrolyze the β-(1,4)-linkage between the adjacent N-acetyl glucosamine residues of chitin. In contrast to CHIT1, AMCase exhibits its optimum activity under acidic conditions and is relatively abundant in the gastrointestinal tract and lungs. AMCase is found highly expressed both in animal models used for the study of allergic inflammation and in lungs of human asthma. Recent data suggests a major biological function of AMCase in asthma and the changes in AMCase expression can be used to monitor Th-2/IL-13-mediated immune response and inflammation. BioVision’s Acidic Mammalian Chitinase Activity Assay Kit utilizes the ability of AMCase to cleave a synthetic substrate to release the free fluorophore which can be easily quantified (Ex/Em= 320/445 nm) and it uses a specific Lysis Buffer which distinguishes AMCase activity from CHIT1 activity. This kit provides a simple, specific, ultra-sensitive assay that can detect as low as 0.5 mU/ml of AMCase activity in a variety of biological samples