High Resolution Two-Dimensional Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis of Cerebrospinal Fluid in Patients with Neurological Diseases

Summary: The protein pättern of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 334 patients with various neurological and systemic diseases was investigated by high resolution two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE). 2-DE gels of normal CSF contain piroteins which are not detectable in 2-DE gels of serum. Disturbances of the blood-brain or blood^CSF barrier, and degenerative diseases of the brain and malignant diseases produce specific changes on 2-DE gels of the CSF. The appearance of 10 spot areas in the light chain region of 2-DE gels seem to be connected with the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. The sensitivity and the specificity of these spot areas for the diagnosis of multiple jsclerosis are described. Proteins within the ten spot areas are immunoglobu-lin light chains or sübstances which cross-react very strongly with light chain antibodies äs demonstrated by immunoblottiiig and iIilm^nöäbso tion. but at a concentration one two-hundredth of that in Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is in close contact with the serum. Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) of brain, and some proteins in CSF are derived from serum and CSF protein $ has demonstrated that cer-the central nervous System (CNS) (1). Many serum tain proteins are normally present in only one of th