ALPHA-ACTININ

The Uses of ALPHA-ACTININ

α-Actinin from chicken gizzard has been used:

• as an antigen to coat plates for the capture of anti-actinin antibody using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) from tumor cell line clones
• in in vitro motility experiments to test its effect on actin filament movement
• to coat cantilevers for strengthening fluorescently labeled actin filaments in force measurement studies

General Description

α-Actinin exists as a rod-shaped antiparallel dimer with two elongated subunits. The domain region contains an N-terminal actin-binding domain with tandem calponin homology domains, a central tandem 3-helix motifs, and EF-hand motifs at C-terminus. It belongs to the spectrin superfamily and is localized in actin structures.

Biochem/physiol Actions

α-Actinin binds actin and has the ability to crosslink actin cytoskeleton. It also plays a key role in the structural maintenance of the Z-disk of striated muscle.