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Two antigenic subtypes of human lambda polypeptide chains were distinguished by rabbit antiserum produced to a lambda Bence Jones protein. Lambda Bence Jones proteins and G myeloma proteins with lambda light chains were identified as being in one or the other subtype. The Oz (+) lambda chain subtype is present in light chains from pooled normal human immunoglobulin G and in whole normal immunoglobulin G molecules.

"Amyloid" fibrils have been created from some human Bence Jones proteins by proteolytic digestion under physiologic conditions. These fibrils with an antiparallel, beta-pleated sheet conformation consist of only a portion of the variable region of the immunoglobulin light polypeptide chain and share the physical properties of amyloid fibrils. The relation between amyloidosis and immunoglobulins is thus more firmly established and a pathogenetic mechanism for amyloid fibril formation is suggested.