Allotypes, rabbit immunoglobulins groups

Kindt, T.J., Mandy, W.J., Todd, C.W. (1970). Association of allotypic specificities of group a with allotypic specificities All and A12 in rabbit immunoglobulin. Biochemistry 9, 2028-2032. 

Figure 2.2 Genetic loci involved in the synthesis of rabbit immunoglobulins as determined by allotype inheritance. It is not known if Vh genes of group a, x and y exist in single or multiple copies. Observations of Vl region subgroups suggest existence of multiple Vl genes.

The differences in the titer of antiallotype antibody produced reflect the particular antigenic determinants involved. The allotypic determinants of human immunoglobulins are small, often single amino acid interchanges in proteins of the same subclass. Amino acids involved in the determinant may be considerably removed from one another in the linear sequence in those instances when more than one amino acid is important, however. Examples are the group a and b allotypic determinants of rabbits which involve multiple amino acid differences scattered along the chain (Kindt, 1975). 

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