Increased complex formation of Gc globulin with actin in plasma from human cadavers

Abstract 

Gc globulin binds actin at an equimolar ratio with a high affinity. It has been revealed that complexes of Gc with actin are present in the plasma of human cadavers. In the present study, an immunoassay which we developed using a specific anti-Gc monoclonal antibody was applied to evaluate the complexed Gc in cadaver plasma. The percentage of Gc in the complexed form was found to be 38.3±19.8% (n=45), and a significantly higher percentage was observed in the plasma of cadavers from burn death. However, the plot of the complex percentage against the time since death showed a relatively low correlation, with a coefficient (r) of 0.51. This was supposed to be due to different environmental conditions after death. Since the complex formation represents the release of cytoplasmic actin into plasma from collapsed cells, the phenomenon should be noted in forensic postmortem chemistry.

Keywords:  Actin, Gc globulin, Monoclonal antibody, Immunoassay, Human cadaver