A rapid silver-stain procedure for use with routine electrophoresis of cerebrospinal fluid on agarose gels

Oligoclonal banding patterns, when present in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) electrophoresed on agarose gels, are important in the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and other demyelinating diseases. Typically, an 80-fold concentration of 2.5 mL of CSF has been needed before the oligoclonal banding pattern could be detected with Coomassie Brilliant Blue stain. This excessive volume requirement often is a problem, particularly in children. We describe here an improved silver-stain procedure with which we routinely can detect the oligoclonal banding pattern in 1 to 3 microL of unconcentrated CSF. The procedure is inexpensive and takes less than 45 min. Our method is quick, safe, sensitive, and easily performed in the clinical laboratory.