Idiotypes, Immunoglobulin

Medical Condition:
Idiotypes, Immunoglobulin

Unique, genetically controlled determinants present on antibodies whose specificity is limited to a single group of proteins (e.g., another antibody molecule or an individual myeloma protein). The idiotype appears to represent the antigenicity of the antigen-binding site of the antibody and to be genetically codetermined with it. The idiotypic determinants have been precisely located to the variable regions of both immunoglobin polypeptide chains.