Rheumatoid Factor, Control Serum, Human

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease of unknown etiology. Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic disease characterized by chronic proliferation and inflammation of joint cartilage and supporting structures. RA is mainly defined by clinical criteria, in which systematic pathogenetic studies have been hampered by doubts about the presence of common pathogenetic mechanisms and the relative lack of unique laboratory findings. IgG rheumatoid factor has been reported to be present in serem of patients with rheumatoid arthritis both with and without IgM rheumatoid factor activity.||RFs are immunoglobulins of any isotype with antibody activity directed against antigenic sites on the Fc portion of IgG molecules. Because of its pentavalent structure and ability to cross-link immunoglobulin G antigen, IgM-RF is the main isotype identified by clinically available diagnostic assays for RF detection. Rheumatoid factors may exist as the mu, gamma, alpha, and epsilon isotypes.||Concentration: |~1095 Units/ml (Beckman IMMAGE)||Total Protein:|~5.6g/dL (Biuret)||Storage and Stability:|May be stored at 4°C for short-term only. Aliquot to avoid repeated freezing and thawing. Store at -20°C. Aliquots are stable for 6 months after receipt at -20°C. For maximum recovery of product, centrifuge the original vial after thawing and prior to removing the cap. Further dilutions can be made in assay buffer.