Serum free light chain quantitative assays: Dilemma of a biomarker.

Background: Serum free light chains detection assays are consistently meeting greater interest for the diagnosis and monitoring of monoclonal gammopathies and plasma cell dyscrasias. Nowadays, there are neither standardized methods nor reference material for the determination of free light chains; for this reason, it is important to compare two different assays used in clinical laboratory.

Methods: We evaluated 300 serum samples from patients with B-cell disorders and compared the analytical performances of both assay.

Comparison of Fully Automated and Semiautomated Systems for Protein Immunofixation Electrophoresis.

Background: In order to establish a diagnosis of monoclonal gammopathy, it is necessary to detect and identify monoclonal components. To confirm the immunological nature of the proteins, the next step is to define their composition in heavy and light chains using immunofixation. The purpose of this study was to compare two different instruments, one semiautomated and the other fully automated for serum and urine immunofixation.

Autoimmunity and lymphoproliferation markers in naïve HCV-RNA positive patients without clinical evidences of autoimmune/lymphoproliferative disorders.

Background: HCV can lead to both chronic liver disease and B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. A strong association exists between HCV and mixed cryoglobulinaemia (MC).

Methods: Anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), rheumatoid factor Ig-G (RF-IgG), free light chain κ and λ (FLC-κ, FLC-λ) levels and κ/λ ratio were evaluated in 50/420 subjects unexpectedly resulted anti-HCV positive after routine screenings for non-hepathological procedures.

Relationship between circulating syndecan-1 levels (CD138s) and serum free light chains in monoclonal gammopathies.

Background: Monoclonal gammopathies encompass a wide range of diseases characterized by the monoclonal expansion of a B-cell clone. Despite emerging therapeutic strategies, chances of survival of patients who are affected are still scarce, which implies that new tools are necessary not only for the diagnosis but also for the follow-up of patients affected by such diseases. In this context, the use of free light chains (FLCs) has been incorporated into many guidelines.