Variable kappa gene usage in swine antibodies

The kappa light chain locus of swine has been mapped to chromosome 3q12-q14 but at this time, there is not enough information comprising the variable region genes or their transcripts. Here we report the sequences of five transcripts of swine kappa light chain variable region obtained from the spleen of two adult Yorkshire pigs. The lengths of the deduced sequences of these transcripts were variable (between 107 to 112 amino acids). Comparisons of the nucleotide sequences of their variable regions with other species like human and murine VL genes shows a high degree of identity, indicating the use of at least two different families of variable light genes. The contribution of these genes to the generation of variability in swine light chain variable genes as well as their therapeutic use in humans is discussed. An interesting possibility would be the development of an antiretroviral vaccine, useful to protect against a potential risk of infections due to xenotransplantation (au)