Muscle fibre typing with sera against myosin and actin. A comparison between enzyme- and immunohistochemical classification.

Sera raised against actin and myosin, extracted from white muscle of fish, were used for the immune-histochemical characterization of muscle fibers. It appeared that both, the actin- and the myosin serum are specific for white muscle fibres in fish. Further it was found that in both, the A- and the I-band of the sacromeres, fibre type specific proteins are present. The classification of muscle fibre types obtained with the antisera was compared with the classification obtained with some enzyme histochemical reactions. Muscle fibres that reacted positively with the two sera, also showed a high histochemical myofibrillar ATP-ase activity. The correlation with a low succinate dehydrogenase- and a high lactate dehydrogenase activity was not always found.