Sodium dodecyl sulfate-capillary gel electrophoretic analysis of molecular mass microheterogeneity of beta-trace protein in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with central nervous system diseases.

Molecular mass (M(r)) microheterogeneity of beta-trace protein (beta TP) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with various neurological disorders was analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate capillary gel electrophoresis. Under the conditions employed, beta TP with a M(r) distribution of 23,000-30,000 was roughly separated into two subfractions containing the major peaks with M(r) of 26,000 and 28,500, respectively. The peak area ratios of the two subfractions of the electropherograms varied among the samples examined, and elevation in the total beta TP level in the CSF from patients with organic diseases in the central nervous system (CNS) was often accompanied by changes in the ratios of the subfractions. The quantitative changes in the subfraction level in CSF beta TP are considered to reflect the pathological alterations in the CNS.