![]() ![]() The light chain is also called the “Bence Jones protein,” named for the doctor Henry Bence Jones who studied its characteristics. Unattached, “free” light chains enter the blood and are excreted rapidly in the urine. In many myeloma patients, the coordinated process of making and attaching light chains and heavy chains fails in the malignant plasma cells. When the whole immunoglobulin is present in the urine, it is usually at a low level. Thus, it is most often present in the blood but not in the urine. ![]() This whole (intact) immunoglobulin, made of the four chains, is usually too large to pass through the kidney. There are two types of light chains, referred to as “kappa (k)” and “lambda (λ).” Some of these patients can be followed with a newer blood test that measures serum free light chains, which are a small fragment of the larger intact M protein.Īn intact immunoglobulin (Ig) molecule is composed of two larger pieces (heavy chains) and two smaller pieces (light chains) that are attached to each other. There are five types of heavy chains, and each type is represented by a specific letter: IgG, IgA, IgD, IgE and IgM. ![]() Monoclonal protein (M protein) levels can be measured in blood and/or urine samples, and these levels generally correlate with the extent of the myeloma.Ī small number of patients with myeloma have either “oligosecretory disease,” in which the detectable level of monoclonal protein is low, or “nonsecretory disease,” in which no monoclonal protein can be detected. In myeloma, large amounts of a single antibody are noted as a “monoclonal immunoglobulin spike” or “monoclonal spike” (M spike), indicating that the protein came from cells that originally started as single, malignant cell. In healthy individuals, plasma cells produce proteins called “polyclonal immunoglobulins.” These are a collection of antibodies that protect the body against all kinds of different invading viruses, bacteria or other infectious agents (antigens). Monoclonal Immunoglobulins (M Protein) and Light Chains (Bence Jones Protein)
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