Anti-Actin Antibody

Actin is one of the most abundant and highly conserved proteins of eukaryotes. Mammalian actins are the product of six different genes with differing distribution patterns in cell types and in tissues. The molecular weight of all six proteins is 42 kDa, and one or more actins is found in essentially every type of crude cellular and tissue extract. As a result antibodies to actin are widely used as in western blotting standards. These can be used to verify that the various steps of the western blotting procedure have been performed correctly. In addition, actin is regarded as a "house keeping" protein which is generally not altered much in expression as a result of experimental manipulations. So quantitation of the actin band on the western is used as a standard against with the band density of other proteins can be compared. The monoclonal binds all six actin isotypes (ACTA1, ACTA2, ACTC1, ACTB, ACTG1 and ACTG2) very strongly on western blots. It is a very effective blotting standard which can work on any cell type or tissue extract. It also works in immunocytochemical experiments, binding strongly and cleanly to filopodia, membrane ruffles and stress fibers, all known to be rich in actin.

Spin vial briefly before opening. Reconstitute with 100 μL sterile-filtered, ultrapure water to achieve a 1 mg/mL concentration. Centrifuge to remove any insoluble material. After reconstitution of lyophilized antibody, aliquot and store at -20°C for a higher stability. Avoid freeze-thaw cycles.

The antibody reacts with a 42 kDa band by Western blot on a crude extract from HeLa cells. It has also been used successfully for immunocytochemistry. It reacts across a broad range of mammalian species.