Anti-Pan Actin (2A3)- Purified (A470-GRP)

Actin is the most abundant protein in most eukaryotic cells and in vertebrates is expressed in three main isoforms: alpha, beta, and gamma 1. The alpha isoform is expressed as three different variants in skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscles, while the beta and gamma isoforms are expressed in non-muscle and muscle cells. In particular, beta-actin is found at the extended edge of cells in two modes: globular and fibrous 2. Actin isoforms are highly conserved, differing in only a few amino acids, often in the N terminus 1. Actin is essential for the survival of most cells 3. It polymerizes into filaments that provide internal mechanical support as part of the cytoskeleton, acts as tracks responsible for the movement of intracellular materials such as organelles or secretory vesicles, and can create forces necessary to drive cell movement. Actin polymerization can also contribute to endocytosis. Beta-actin is a housekeeping gene with relatively stable expression in most cells and is often used in experiments as an internal reference of total protein 2 . However, beta-actin expression becomes unstable in a variety of pathological settings including cerebrovascular disease 2 (subarachnoid hemorrhage and stroke), cancer 4, and in some disease models 2 and is being investigated as a possible biomarker in some contexts 2. Monoclonal antibody 2A3 (aka 2A3-6A5-G2) was raised in mouse against a KLH-peptide fragment corresponding to amino acids 358-374 of the C terminal region of human beta-actin 5, 6. 2A3 has been used as a loading control in Western blotting 7 - 16.