Genetic polymorphism of properdin factor B in the rhesus: evidence for single subunit structure in primates.

Properdin Factor B shows genetic polymorphism in the human and the polymorphic patterns in agarose gel electrophoresis suggest a tetrameric structure. Factor B polymorphism in the rhesus monkey has been demonstrated in the present study to be genetically determined and under the control of a single autosomal locus, rhesus Bf. Six codominant alleles, Bf-F, Bf-G-1, Bf-G-2, Bf-S-1, Bf-S-2 have been recognized and the first five have been shown to have gene frequencies of 0.307,0.160,0.016,0.377, and 0.139. The electrophoretic appearance of the polymorphic patterns does not suggest a tetrameric structure in the rhesus. Structural studies show purified human factor B to exist as a single subunit of molecular weight 94,000 daltons so that a tetrameric structure appears highly unlikely.