Incidence of gamma-globulin banding in a healthy population by high-resolution electrophoresis.

We report the incidence of electrophoretically homogeneous protein bands occurring in the gamma-globulin region in serum samples from 600 healthy adults, as determined with a high-resolution electrophoretic system. One or more electrophoretically homogeneous protein bands of various intensities were detected in the gamma-globulin region of 30 specimens when we used an improved agarose electrophoretic system, and in two specimens when we used a cellulose acetate electrophoretic system. Improvement of the agarose gel electrophoretic system thus enhanced its sensitivity in defining homogeneous protein bands in the gamma-globulin region. The incidence of these bands in a healthy population is approximately 5%.