Immunoglobulin structure: amino terminal sequences of kappa chains from genetically similar mice (BALB/c).

The amino terminal portion of 20 kappa chains from the highly inbred BALB/c mouse has been examined on an automatic protein sequencer. These proteins can be divided into at least nine groups (subgroups) based on sequence patterns which are so distinct that each subgroup is probably encoded by at least one germ-line gene. The subgroups of mouse kappa chains are generally quite different from those of human kappa chains.