Gamma heavy chain disease studied by two-dimensional electrophoresis and immuno-blotting techniques.

We used two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting techniques to study serum proteins from a patient with a monoclonal gammopathy. Two-dimensional electrophoresis was optimized for serum proteins with two main goals: (a) to allow the resolution of many serum proteins in both directions, with penetration of the maximum number of proteins in the first dimension; and (b) to obtain the best reproducibility from one experiment to another, within the limits of the current technique. These analyses, combined with immunoblotting, permitted us to characterize a gamma heavy chain disease protein of 34 000-Da molecular mass. Moreover, two-dimensional mapping of the patient's serum proteins allowed demonstration of the microheterogeneity of this monoclonal component.