Hypergammaglobulinemia
From WikiLectures
Polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia[edit | edit source]
Polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia develops in response to antigenic stimulation, in which multiple plasma cell clones are activated, thereby increasing the concentration of immunoglobulins, that affect one or more classes of immunoglobulins – we speak of polyclonal gammopathy.
- We encounter it in chronic infections, liver and autoimmune diseases.
- In electrophoresis, there is an increase in the fraction of gamma globulins forming a wide, blurred band in the area of γ-globulins.
Monoclonal hypergammaglobulinemia[edit | edit source]
Monoclonal immunoglobulins (paraproteins) are imunoglobulins or imunoglobulin fragments produced by a single clone of plasma cells. Their main feature is the homogeneity of the molecule with the same primary structure; immunoglobulins with the same specificity are represented, consisting of only one type of heavy chain and also one type of light chain.
- The physicochemical homogeneity of the paraprotein is manifested by a narrow peak during electrophoresis, usually in the area of β–γ globulins.
- Monoclonal immunoglobulins are most commonly the IgG and IgM types. They consist of either a complete immunoglobulin molecule, free light chains alone (Bence-Jones protein) or heavy chains alone.
- Bence-Jones protein easily passes through the glomerular filter to urine.
- The finding of monoclonal immunoglobulins is a symptom of a malignant disease - plasmocytoma (= multiple myeloma), caused by the tumor growth of one clone of plasma cells, or a symptom of benign monoclonal gammopathy.
