Structural bases for public idiotypic specificities of monoclonal antibodies directed against poly(Glu60Ala30Tyr10) and poly(Glu60Ala40) random copolymers.

NH2-terminal amino acid sequences of heavy and light chains of seven poly(Glu60Ala30Tyr10) (GAT) specific hybridoma products derived from DBA/2 and (DBA/2 X BALB/c)F1 hybrid mice and those of BALB/B polyclonal antibodies have been determined over the first 40 residues. Comparison of these sequences with those of nine other GAT or poly(Glu60Ala40) (GA) specific hybridoma products previously reported allowed the following conclusions. (i) Sequences of hybridoma H and L chains are present in the pool of polyclonal antibodies. (ii) The public CGAT (or pGAT) idiotypic specificities are strictly confined to antibodies exhibiting limited heterogeneity with regard to both the variable heavy (VH) and the variable kappa (V kappa) sequences that may be accounted for by one and two germ-line genes, respectively. (iii) The public idiotypic specificities GA-1, expressed by some anti-GAT and most anti-GA antibodies, make use of the same (or similar) VH germ-line genes as the CGAT or pGAT antibodies but possess a distinctive V kappa sequence. (iv) Antibodies expressing neither of the alternative public specificities mentioned above appear to be more heterogeneous and express VH and V kappa sequences that were found to differ from the basic structures defining the CGAT (pGAT) or GA-1 correlates. It is concluded that CGAT (or pGAT) and GA-1 public idiotypic specificities are germ-line markers of both VH and V kappa regions, an observation in agreement with previously reported serological data.