Detection of oligoclonal IgG bands in cerebrospinal fluid of multiple sclerosis patients by silver-stained polyacrylamide gels

Unconcentrated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 18 consecutive patients were examined for presence of oligoclonal IgG and IgM bands by using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS-PAGE) by silver staining and standard Coomassie Blue (CB) stain. Oligoclonal IgG bands were demonstrated in CSF from 17 of 18 patients (94.4%) with multiple sclerosis (MS) by SDS-PAGE silver staining. IgM bands were also seen at three MS patient's CSF. In contrast, standard Coomassie Blue (CM) stain used had bands only at the bovine serum albumin (BSA) region. Silver staining of SDS-PAGE polyacrylamide gels permit reliable and sensitive and reliable than CB staining for detection of oligoclonal IgG in the small volume of unconcentrated CSF. Additional data suggest that oligoclonal bands may represent an immune response to neurological injury that is prominent in disorders with a particularly intense or continuous antigenic stimulus