NATURALLY-OCCURRING ANTIBODIES DEVOID OF LIGHT-CHAINS
NATURALLY-OCCURRING ANTIBODIES DEVOID OF LIGHT-CHAINS
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DOI：
10.1038/363446a0
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发表时间：
1993-06-03
期刊：
影响因子：
64.8
通讯作者：
HAMERS, R
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
HAMERSCASTERMAN, C;ATARHOUCH, T;HAMERS, R
VL和VH的随机关联极大地促进了抗体的多样性1。在生发中心的B细胞中，多样性和亲和性通过超突变而增加。除了“重链”疾病3外，尚未描述自然产生的重链抗体，尽管已证明抗原结合可用于分离的重链4或克隆的VH结构域5。在这里，我们研究了骆驼（Camelus dromedarius）血清中存在大量M(r) 100K的igg样物质6。这些分子由重链二聚体组成，缺乏轻链，但仍然具有广泛的抗原结合库，这一发现对轻链在骆驼中的作用提出了质疑。骆驼重链IgG缺乏CH1，在一类IgG中，CH1可能在结构上被延长的铰链取代。重链igg是所有骆驼类动物的特征。这些发现为抗体工程开辟了新的视角。
RANDOM association of VL and VH repertoires contributes considerably to antibody diversity1. The diversity and the affinity are then increased by hypermutation in B cells located in germinal centres2. Except in the case of 'heavy chain' disease3, naturally occurring heavy-chain antibodies have not been described, although antigen binding has been demonstrated for separated heavy chains4 or cloned VH domains5. Here we investigate the presence of considerable amounts of IgG-like material of M(r) 100K in the serum of the camel (Camelus dromedarius)6. These molecules are composed of heavy-chain dimers and are devoid of light chains, but nevertheless have an extensive antigen-binding repertoire, a finding that calls into question the role of light chains in the camel. Camel heavy-chain IgGs lack CH1, which in one IgG class might be structurally replaced by an extended hinge. Heavy-chain IgGs are a feature of all camelids. These findings open new perspectives in the engineering of antibodies.