GC subtyping in dental pulps.

By means of non-immobilized isoelectric focusing followed by immunoblotting, group-specific component (GC) subtypes were detected in dental pulp tissues. The amount of GC in dental pulp was quantitated using rocket immunoelectrophoresis and the minimum amount of the protein necessary for the typing of GC was estimated to be about 0.02 microgram in 10 microliters of the sample. The results of GC typing in dental pulp tissues were in agreement with the phenotypes obtained from serum samples of the same individuals. Subtyping by the present method was also possible in dental pulp tissues obtained from the teeth stored for 4 weeks at room temperature. The GC subtyping by non-immobilized isoelectric focusing is of practical use for medicolegal investigation of teeth.