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Free light chains (FLCs) are immunoglobulin light chains that are found in the serum (blood) in an unbound (free) state. In recent decades, measuring the amount of free light chains (FLCs) in the blood has become a practical clinical test. FLC tests can be used to diagnose and monitor diseases like multiple myeloma and amyloidosis.
Once set, light chain class remains fixed for the life of the B lymphocyte. In a healthy individual, the total kappa-to-lambda ratio is roughly 2:1 in serum (measuring intact whole antibodies) or 1:1.5 if measuring free light chains, with a highly divergent ratio indicative of neoplasm. The free light chain ratio ranges from 0.26 to 1.65. [1]
Test: Patient Lower limit Upper limit Unit ... Serum free light chains (FLC): kappa/lambda ratio: 0.26 [169] 1.65 [169] (unitless) Other enzymes and proteins. Test
The panel simultaneously tests 4 patients (one in each quadrant). Each patient has 6 electrophoresis panels: The left one is a conventional serum protein electrophoresis. The remainder get solutions with anti-IgG, anti-IgA, anti-IgM, anti-kappa light chain and anti-lambda light chain immunoglobulin, respectively from left to right.
It is important in quantification of free light chains in diseases such as multiple myeloma. Quantification is important for disease classification and for disease monitoring once a patient has been treated (increased skewing of the ratio between kappa and lambda light chains after a patient has been treated is an indication of disease recurrence).
These chains are usually present in a 70:30 ratio of kappa to lambda. Anti-lambda light chain antibodies can nonspecifically bind to multiple isotypes of immunoglobulins. [22] Immunoglobulins will either express Kappa or Lambda light chains. This is a depiction of an immunoglobulin that expresses Lambda light chains.
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A specially interesting method are free light chains (FLC), specially the kappa-FLCs (kFLCs). Several authors have reported that the nephelometric and ELISA FLCs determination is comparable with OCBs as markers of IgG synthesis, and kFLCs behave even better than oligoclonal bands. [21]