ABSTRACT
The availability of monoclonal antibodies specific for VH and Vk gene products offered us a unique opportunity to study the levels of the expression of these two gene segments independently from the antibody specificity of the immunoglobulins to which they are utilized. The antibody repertoire is determined by the number of VH and VL genes as well as by multiple joining gene segments. Immunoglobulin repertoire studies imply the possibility of studying the expression and the regulation of given VH or Vk genes. Repertoires have been studied by analyzing antibodies specific for certain antigenic determinants or positive for given idiotypes. An alternative approach to the study of immunoglobulin gene expression has been made possible by the availability of DNA probes specific for VH gene families. Polymorphism of V genes is probably a necessity for mammalian life, but, in the case of immunoglobulins, this allelism can also be dangerous inasmuch as it may influence the number of productive VH-VL pairs.
