Agarose gel serum protein electrophoresis in cats with and without lymphoma and preliminary results of tandem mass fingerprinting analysis.

Background: Serum electrophoretic profiles in cats are poorly characterized with respect to the proteins that comprise the globulin fractions, and interpretation of the electrophoretograms is routinely done in the absence of information about identity of the proteins found within each fraction.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to compare protein fractions separated by serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) in healthy cats and in cats with lymphoma and to confirm some component proteins in the major fractions following SPE using tandem mass fingerprinting analysis (TMFA).

Methods: Total protein concentration was measured and agarose gel SPE performed on serum from 14 healthy cats and 14 cats with lymphoma.