ON STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL RELATIONS BETWEEN ANTIBODIES AND PROTEINS OF THE GAMMA-SYSTEM

Abstract
A hypothetical scheme relating the various classes of gamma-globulins through their structural and functional properties is proposed. The evidence upon which this scheme is based is considered, and the relevance of this scheme to certain notions concerning antibody and immunologic specificity is discussed. The central feature of the scheme is the assignment of the different biological functions of antibodies to 2 different kinds of polypeptide chains of which the gamma-globulin molecule is composed.