beta 2-Microglobulin.

In the sixties, Ingemar Berggård discovered, isolated and characterized the low molecular weight protein beta 2-microglobulin. The relations of beta 2-microglobulin to the immune system have led to intensive research on this protein. The present work reviews the purification and characterization of human beta 2-microglobulin and animal homologues, the association of beta 2-microglobulin to other molecules, the functional studies with beta 2-microglobulin and antibodies against beta 2-microglobulin, and the evolutionary studies on beta 2-microglobulin.