Free Light Chains: MedlinePlus Lab Test Information

What is a free of charge light chains examination?

Light-weight chains are proteins produced by plasma cells, a type of white blood mobile. Plasma cells also make immunoglobulins (antibodies). Immunoglobulins enable safeguard the entire body in opposition to illness and bacterial infections. Immunoglobulins are shaped when light chains url up with weighty chains, yet another type of protein. When light chains url up with weighty chains, they are acknowledged as bound light chains.

Ordinarily, plasma cells make a tiny volume of added light chains that will not bind with weighty chains. They are as a substitute launched into the bloodstream. These unlinked chains are acknowledged as free of charge light chains.

There are two forms of light chains: lambda and kappa light chains. A free of charge light chains examination measures the volume of lambda and kappa free of charge light chains in the blood. If the volume of free of charge light chains is larger or decreased than ordinary, it can imply you have a dysfunction of the plasma cells. These include numerous myeloma, a most cancers of plasma cells, and amyloidosis, a problem that triggers a dangerous buildup of proteins in various organs and tissues.

Other names: free of charge kappa/lambda ratio, kappa/lambda quantitative free of charge light, freelite, kappa and lambda free of charge light chains, immunoglobulin free of charge light chains