Structural studies on induced antibodies with defined idiotypic specificities. VII. The complete amino acid sequence of the heavy chain variable region of anti-p-azophenylarsenate antibodies from A/J mice bearing a cross-reactive idiotype.

This paper reports the complete amino acid sequence of the variable region of heavy chains derived from A/J anti-p-azophenylarsenate antibodies bearing a cross-reactive idiotype. The structure of this induced idiotypically defined antibody is homogeneous and provides the first direct evidence that heritable idiotypes are defined chemical entities. There are certain similarities between the structure of this murine antibody and the human myeloma protein Eu as well as guinea pig anti-p-azophenylarsonate antibodies. The amino acid sequence of approximately 15% of the constant region of this IgG1 molecule is also described. Combined with our studies of the variable region of the light chains of these molecules, this study represents the first complete V domain structure of an induced idiotypically defined antibody with heritable characteristics.