A „LEPORE” TYPE OF HYBRID γ GLOBULIN

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Abstract
No explanation has been available concerning the gamma globulin defect in a unique family with one member whose serum was devoid of all the usual Gm genetic antigens. In the present study, it was found that this serum lacks ordinary gammaG1 and gammaG3 proteins and contains instead hybrid molecules of the type gammaG3-gammaG1. These were demonstrated most clearly by the precipitation of gammaG1 proteins with antisera specific for gammaG3 antigens. The analogy to the delta-beta chain hybrids, established for Lepore-type hemoglobins, was striking. An unequal homologous crossover involving mispairing of heavy chain cistrons would readily explain the deletion of genetic markers.