Change in relative mobility of M protein following neuraminidase treatment in patients with multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance.

The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between the relative mobility of M protein in various disease states using cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis. To examine the carbohydrate chain of the M protein, sera from patients with multiple myeloma (MM), various cancers, and benign disease were treated with neuraminidase. The relative mobility in benign disease and MM patient sera following neuraminidase treatment varied among individuals, while that of IgG M protein in sera from cancer patients was from 0.2 to 0.3. Thus, the relative mobility in cancer patients was narrower than in those with MM or benign disease.However, after neuraminidase treatment, there was no significant difference between relative mobility in cancer patient's sera and those in other disease patients. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.