The fate of injected Bence Jones protein.

Bence Jones protein injected into rabbits was excreted rapidly into the urine. The excreted protein retained the physicochemical and immunochemical properties of the injected Bence Jones protein. In spite of the rapid excretion, a significant portion of the injected Bence Jones protein was found to be metabolized. After reinjection of radioactive Bence Jones protein into the donor patient, only a little radioactivity was recovered in the urinary protein. The implications of these results are discussed.