Human factor VIII circulates as a series of active heterodimers composed of a light chain (83 kDa) linked by divalent metal ion(s) to a variable sized heavy chain (93-210 kDa). Purified factor VIII subunits were modified with sulfhydryl-specific fluorophores. Probe selection was based upon the limited number of free cysteine residues in each subunit. Levels of probe incorporation suggested the ...

Human myosin heavy chains are encoded by a multigene family consisting of at least 10 members. A gene-specific oligonucleotide has been used to isolate the human beta myosin heavy chain gene from a group of twelve nonoverlapping genomic clones. We have shown that this gene (which is expressed in both cardiac and skeletal muscle) is located 3.6kb upstream of the alpha cardiac myosin gene. We fin...

Heavy chain diseases are rare variants of B-cell lymphomas that produce one of three classes of immunoglobulin heavy chains, without corresponding light chains. We describe two patients with asymptomatic heavy chain monoclonal gammopathy. The first patient is a 51-year-old woman with alpha paraprotein on serum immunofixation. The second case is a 46-year-old woman with gamma paraprotein on urin...

The molecular weight of the heavy chain (p) of the immunoglobulin M isolated from mouse myeloma tumor MOPC 104E is 73,000 as determined by gel filtration. Of the heavy chain, 13.3 % or 9,700 g/73,000 g of protein is carbohydrate, yielding a carbohydrate-free molecular weight of 63,000. By amino acid analysis the heavy chain consists of 549 residues, with molecular weight 61,000. The NH2-termina...

The US2 and US11 glycoproteins of human cytomegalovirus facilitate destruction of MHC class I heavy chains by proteasomal proteolysis through acceleration of endoplasmic reticulum-to-cytosol dislocation. Modification of the class I heavy chain was used to probe the structural requirements for this sequence of reactions. The cytosolic domain of the class I heavy chain is required for dislocation...

Heavy Chain Deposition Disease (HCDD) is rare, and presents with renal failure, proteinuria, hematuria, hypertension, and often hypocomplimenteniemia [1-3]. HCDD may mimic the pathology of immune complex, crescenteric glomerulonephritis, with isolated heavy chain deposits along mesangial, glomerular, and tubular Basement Membranes (BMs), without associated light chains [4]. The predominant heav...

Seven mouse myeloma proteins with specificity for phosphorylcholine (PC) were found to share a common antigenic determinant. This group of proteins contained members which differed in genetic origin, heavy chain class, kappa-chain subgroup, individual antigenic determinants and specificity for choline analogues. The cross-idiotypic determinant, VH-PC, was antigenically similar in each of the pr...

B lymphocyte surface immunoglobulins (Smlg) were studied in 24 patients with multiple myeloma by means of anti-isotypic antisera, and their heavy and light chain isotypes were compared in each patient with those of the paraprotein. In 21 patients, lymphocyte Smlg consisted of only one light chain type, and in 16 of only 1 heavy chain type. However, the Smlg and paraprotein heavy and light chain...

Structural differences between alpha m (ther heavy chain of membrane IgA) and alpha s (the heavy chain of secretory IgA) were investigated. Messenger RNA from the human B lymphoblastoid line 32a.1, expressing both membrane and secretory IgA, was translated in a wheat germ cell-free system, resulting in the synthesis of two primary translation products for the alpha chain, that differed in molec...

subclass and is closely related to Fc-fragment of G3immunoglobulins. The predominant N-terminal amino acid of this protein is glutamic acid in the uncyclized form, and that of another -yHCD is glycine. Studies of the N-terminal peptides indicate that the N-terminal portion of the y3-heavy polypeptide chain is absent from the -yHCD-JM. These findings rule out a process of normal heavy chain init...