Plasma protein profiling: the diagnostic evaluation of disorders in plasma protein composition by a new immunoelectrophoretic method.

A new electroimmunoprecipitation technique is presented by means of which a great variety of antigens e.g. plasma proteins can be simultaneously and quantitatively determined with a single-step electrophoretic separation. The essential features of the new technique are: (a) subdivision of the antibody gel into gel strips containing monospecific antibodies to individual plasma proteins. (b) sample application as a "sample gel" filling a trough over the width of the immunoplate. Quantitation is based on the fact that the distance an antigen can migrate within a gel containing a defined amount of specific antibody directed against the antigen is determined by the concentration of the appropriate antigen within the sample. The area where the antigen is finally completely consumed by immunoprecipitation and antibody present in excess is sharply delineated. The applicability of the method in simultaneous quantitative determination of 15 plasma proteins is demonstrated with plasma from healthy blood donors and patients with various diseases. The advantage of the new technique as compared to commonly used clinical acetate folia electrophoresis is the high degree of specificity for the determination of a great number of individual, diagnostically meaningful plasma proteins. The advantage over common quantitative two-dimensional immunoelectrophoresis is its uncomplicated way of evaluation. The potential clinical application of the new quantitative immunoelectrophoretic technique in diagnostic screening and differential diagnosis is discussed.