Quantitative determination of immunoglobulins in the cerebrospinal fluid based on their light chain properties using a solid-phase enzyme immunoassay.

A method for quantitative determination of immunoglobulins in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) on the basis of their light chain properties is described. The method is a solid-phase enzyme immunoassay, based upon competitive binding of immunoglobulins in unknown and labeled immunoglobulin for antibody adsorbed to the wells of a microplate. The values for immunoglobulins kappa (Ig-k), lambda (Ig-l) and k/l ratio obtained from 38 subjects without neurological disorders were 8.6 +/- 4.0 micrograms/ml, 7.0 +/- 2.6 micrograms/ml and 1.21 +/- 0.21, respectively (mean +/- SD). Our method is considered to be less influenced by the molecular size and weight of immunoglobulins than radial immunodiffusion, and thus may provide more precise values of Ig-k and Ig-l.