Anti-actin antibodies. Detection and quantitation of total and skeletal muscle actin in human plasma using a competitive ELISA.

A competitive ELISA has been used to titrate skeletal muscle and total actins in human plasma. Specific antibodies directed against the variable N-terminal 1-7 sequence and conserved sequences respectively were used. The N-terminus of actin appears to be accessible in native and brevin-complexed actins. The skeletal muscle actin isoform represents about 1% of the total circulating actin (mean: 50 micrograms/ml plasma), but is markedly increased after severe muscle tissue injuries.