Allotypes of Human Immunoglobulins

There are three Km antigenic types of human k light chains designated as Km(l), Km(2), and Km(3), formerly referred to as Inv(l), Inv(2), and Inv(3) (see Table IIA). It has been shown that the inheritance of these markers is determined by three Km alleles, termed Km Km and A m (Ropartz et aL, 1964). In most whites (98%), the Km(l) and Km(2) markers are found together. These are inherited through the Km allele. A small proportion (2%) of the white population carries only the Km(l) antigen and therefore the rare Km allele. So far, there have been no individuals described who carry only the Km(2) marker. 

In view of the unique character of this marker, it will be of considerable interest to examine further its distribution in human populations and, in addition, to see if additional, comparable determinants can be found. 

Thus considerable progress has been made in identifying, characterizing, and locating the antigenic determinants associated with a number of human allotypic markers. These determinants are often quite complex with contributions from amino acids that are widely removed from one another in the linear sequence. This is therefore still another area where the details of the tertiary, or quaternary, structure of the immunoglobulin are crucial to the expression of a given function. 

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