Cloning of a gene encoding a lupus-associated human autoantibody VK region using the polymerase chain reaction and degenerate primers.

The variable light-chain-encoding gene of a human autoantibody secreted by a B-cell hybridoma derived from a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction and degenerate primers. After cloning, the nucleotide sequence of the EcoRI-HindIII region was determined. It is highly homologous to a previously described gene expressed by a human lymphoid cell line.