VMC 221: Veterinary Immunology and Serology (1+1)

ALLOTYPES AND IDIOTYPES

Allotypes

• Immunoglobulins of one individual may be structurally different from another individual of the same species. This variation is called allotypes and it is determined genetically.
• This may occur due to single amino acid variation as heritable polymorphism.
• These have been identified within IgG, IgA and on κ chains.

Idiotypes

• When structural difference is due to variation in amino acid sequence in the variable domain of heavy and light chains, these variants are called Idiotypes.