See Also: heavy chain disease(medicine)
Heavy chain(health)
heavy chain(medicine)
myosin heavy chain(medicine)
immunoglobulins, heavy-chain(medicine)
MyoD heavy chain kinase(medicine)
gene rearrangement, b-lymphocyte, heavy chain(medicine)
L-chain disease(medicine)
alpha chain disease(medicine)
Herbal medicine (botanical medicine, herbology, phytomedicine)(health)

heavy chain disease (medicine)


heavy chain disease


A disorder of immunoglobulin synthesis in which large quantities of abnormal heavy chains are excreted in the urine. The amino acid sequences of the n- (amino-) terminal regions of these chains are normal, but they have a deletion extending from part of the variable domain through the first domain of the constant region, so that they cannot form cross-links to the light chains. The defect arises through faulty coupling of the variable (v) and constant (c) region genes.