General Description
Monoclonal Anti-Myosin (Smooth) (mouse IgG1 isotype) is derived from the hSM-V hybridoma produced by the fusion of mouse myeloma cells and splenocytes from BALB/c mice immunized with human uterus smooth muscle extract. Myosin (~500 kDa) is a cytoskeletal protein containing two identical heavy chains (~200 kDa each) and four light chains (15-26 kDa). Myosin molecules consist of two major regions: tail (rod) and heads.
Biochem/physiol Actions
Myosin implicated in cell motility. They aggregate into filaments through the tail region and interact with actin and with ATP through the head region. Myosin molecules spontaneously assemble into filaments in solutions of physiologic ionic strength and pH. In fact, the thick filament consists mainly of myosin molecules. The ATPase of myosin is activated by actin. This activation is the immediate source of the free energy that drives muscle contraction. It binds to the polymerized form of actin, the major constituent of the thin filament. Myosin is generally assumed to be a very specific and reliable smooth muscle marker, provided that the antibody used is specific for smooth muscle myosin and does not cross-react with skeletal, cardiac or non-muscle myosins.
