Hypergammaglobulinemia
Polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia
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
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.
