Protein electrophoresis

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In chemistry and medicine, protein electrophoresis is a method of analysing a mixture of proteins by means of gel electrophoresis, mainly in blood serum (blood plasma is not suitable).

Interpretation

There are two large classes of blood proteins: serum albumin and globulin. They are generally equal in proportion, but albumin is much smaller and lightly negatively charged, leading to an accumulation of albumin on the electrophoretic gel. A small band before albumin represents transthyretin (also named prealbumin). Some forms of medication or body chemicals can cause their own band, usually small. Abnormal bands are seen in monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and multiple myeloma, and are useful in the diagnosis of these conditions.

The globulins are classified by their banding pattern (with their main representatives):

• The alpha (α) band consists of two parts, 1 and 2:
  • α₁ - α₁-antitrypsin, α₁-acid glycoprotein.
  • α₂ - haptoglobin, α₂-macroglobulin, α₂-antiplasmin, ceruloplasmin.
• The beta (β) band - transferrin, LDL, complement
• The gamma (γ) band - immunoglobulin (IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG and IgM). Paraproteins (in multiple myeloma) appear in this band.

See also

• Gel electrophoresis
• Paraprotein
• Electrofocusing
• QPNC-PAGE