At the protein level, antibodies show several types of variability. One is the diversity of the
variable (V) regions of heavy (H) and light (L) chains, leading to antibody-combining site
specificity; another is the existence of two types of light chain (κ and λ); a third is the diversity
of heavy chain-constant (CH) regions associated with different effector functions. At the DNA
level, V-region variability is coded partly through the large number of V L-and V H-region
genes and partly generated by integrating complete V genes from combinations of shorter …

Our understanding of the molecular genetics of immunoglobulins has been enormously
advanced by the application of recombinant DNA technology. This new volume in the
popular series New Comprehensive Biochemistry contains eight chapters that draw together
reviews summarising the research into immunoglobulins and the arrangement,
rearrangement and expression of their gene structure. Molecular Genetics of
Immunoglobulin will be of particular importance to those working in the areas of genetics …