Protein electrophoresis

''Please see the main article gel electrophoresis for an introduction on the principles of electrophoresis.

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: 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 pre-albumin). Some forms of medication or body chemicals can cause their own band, usually small (see, however, paraprotein).

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;, 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