Inheritance of mixed cryoglobulinemia.

This paper describes a family in which 10 members of 3 generations have IgM-IgG cryoglobulinemia. Their pedigree is characteristic of autosomal dominant inheritance. No underlying disease that could account for the cryoglobulinemia has been identified in any patient, and no linkage of the cryoglobulinemia to HLA-A and -B locus haplotypes, blood group antigens, or immunoglobulin Gm allotypes has been detected. The rheumatoid factors of this kindred react with some, but not all, human IgG; however, their rheumatoid factors are not antibodies to any known human Gm or Km allotype. This family demonstrates that "essential" mixed cryoglobulinemia can be inherited, and that the clinical manifestations of an inherited cryoglobulinemia may vary among family members.