MOLECULAR-CLONING OF A HUMAN-IMMUNOGLOBULIN HEAVY-CHAIN VARIABLE (VH) REGION WITH ANTI-MYELIN-ASSOCIATED GLYCOPROTEIN ACTIVITY

A cDNA clone that encodes the heavy chain variable region (VH) of an IgM M-protein with anti-myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) activity secreted by chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells (B-C11) from a patient with peripheral neuropathy was cloned and sequenced. The JH region was identical to the germline JH4 sequence except for deletion of a thymidine residue at the site of D-JH recombination, and the D region showed greatest homology to DM2. Sequence analysis of the VH region revealed greatest homology to VH26, a member of the VH3 gene family, but homology was only 83.7% over 326 bases, suggesting that it was derived from as yet an unidentified member of the VH3 gene family. © 1990.