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The complete amino acid sequence of Bence-Jones protein Len. was established by sequential analysis of tryptic and chymotryptic peptides. The result of these experiments and the comparative sequence analysis with the other 17 completely determined kappa-proteins is incompatible with the serological typisation of protein Len. as a member of subgroup II: There are 18 positions in protein Len. than cannot be associated with any one of the subgroups kappaI, kappaII or kappaIII. Also the average amino acid exchange rate between protein Len. and these subgroups is in the same range as the average amino acid exchange rate between these subgroups. Therefore Bence-Jones protein Len. is the first completely determined representative of a new IV. kappa-type subgroup. The variability of immunoglobulins follows a structural principle in which the single point mutations responsible for the variability are linked. The present paper contains the exact analysis of the linked point mutations within the so far best-investigated subgroup, kappaI (12 completely sequenced proteins). These linked exchanges allow the arrangement of the kappaI proteins in 4 subgroups and their further subdivision. The regularity of this amino acid sequence pattern can only be explained by an evolutionary origin of antibody variability. On the basis of this evolutionary mechanism the relationship of immunoglobulins can be depicted in a phylogenetic tree. Such a tree was therefore constructed for the 18 completely determined Bence-Jones proteins of kappa-type, for the first time taking into account Bence-Jones protein Len. Its topology is in complete agreement with the results of the comparative sequence analysis.

Mucins are heavily glycosylated glycoproteins which exhibit a variety of antigenic determinants consisting of carbohydrates and/or peptide sequences. The application of monoclonal antibodies and lectins in immunohistochemistry resulted in a considerable extension of knowledge regarding their topography during histogenesis. Additionally, typical alterations of antigenic profiles during neoplastic transformation of cells and tissues were described. A number of new results are in keeping with the assumption that mucin-associated antigens play an important role in tumor biology, for example metastasis, and as markers of prognosis. The purpose of the present paper is to give a review, including the authors' own results, of knowledge on the gastro-intestinal mucin antigens in experimental and clinical pathology.

Presently five viruses causing hepatitis are known, the hepatitis viruses A (HAV), B (HBV), C (HCV), D (HDV) and E (HEV). The genomic structure is known of most of all these viruses as well as some of their structural and regulatory gene products. Using radio- and enzyme immunoassays viral antigens can be detected for HBV and HDV as well as specific antibodies against all the five viruses. The results of these tests are the basis for the diagnosis and the follow-up of these infections but differ in their accuracy for each given virus. Concerning HIV one can differentiate between an ongoing or recently passed infection and immunity. Concerning HBV (and HDV), an ongoing infection at various stages can be distinguished from immunity. Such distinctions are not possible with respect to HCV except when also applying the expensive and cumbersome method of the polymerase chain reaction. In this paper the most important characteristics of the hepatitis viruses are given and the behaviour of the various viral markers during the infections and their consequences are described.

In connexion with the separation of Listeria innocua (Seeliger and Schoofs, 1977) from Listeria monocytogenes (Murray et at., Pirie, 1940), resulting epidemiological and epizootological problems are discussed. L. innocua is apathogenic when conventional experimental models for testing Listeria monocytogenes are used. Under special conditions, i.e. use of suckling mice, strain Welshimer of L. innocua produced localized encephalitis (Patoĉka et al., 1979). The peculiarities of L. innocua justify further studies at the immunological, infectious-pathological and genetical level. A description of the new species is given in the appendix of this paper.

Monoclonal antibodies have been increasingly applied in medicine for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes instead of conventional antisera. In addition to their unlimited availability monoclonal antibodies have the advantage of defined specificity, affinity and of standard parameters. This paper describes the production of monoclonal antibodies using the hybridoma technique and surveys some potential fields of application such as infections, transplantations, tumours and lung diseases.

The paper reviews the currently available methods for lymphocyte separation, with particular reference to their effectiveness. Procedures based on density and size, such as density gradient centrifugation and sedimentation and size filtration on columns, allow accumulation of lymphocytes of different degree of differentiation, but do not permit any quantitative separation of distinct lymphocyte populations, because density and size of cells are properties strongly varying with the degree of development and physiological state of the cells. Differences of the cells' net potential cause differential adhesion of lymphoid cells to glass or other materials, and lead to varying migration speeds in the electric field. Adherence columns afford only partial separation of T and B cells, whereas favourable results have been obtained by preparative cell electrophoresis. Special membrane structures, such as differentiation antigens including membrane-bound immunoglobulins, cell receptors and transplantation antigens make possible a specific separation of lymphocytes. Essentially, the following 5 methods are being used: 1. Cytolytic treatment of the cells with antisera against differentiation antigens in the presence of complement. 2. Rosette separation 2.1 Rosette formation with sheep erythrocytes (SE) or with antigen-coaded SE for the isolation of antigen-binding lymphocytes. 2.2 Rosette formation by antigen-antibody-complement complexes (B rosettes) 2.3 Rosette formation with SE by human T lymphocytes (T rosettes) 2.1--2.3. Separation of the rosettes from the free lymphocytes by centrifugation or sedimentation.

This paper deals with serological studies on 332 Staph. aureus strains of human origin having been isolated from various sources. On the basis of typing with 17 factor sera, a great number of groups and types was obtained occurring among the strains of several processes of a disease without showing special serological structural formulae which would have been typical for pathological changes of certain localisation. But still deviations have been observed between the strains of most of the series of observation which proved to be significant differences of incidence and referred to several groups and types. In this isolated observation of the single factors, different antigen-structures occurred as result.

Apart from the humoral immune response against influenza viruses recent years much attention has focussed on problems of cell-mediated immunity. The most important cell-mediated immune reactions of humans and experimental animals against influenza viruses and the most used in-vitro-assays were reviewed in the present paper. Especially the specificity of these reactions against the surface antigens of influenza viruses, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase was presented. A lot of open questions in the field of the cellular immune defense against influenza viruses were also shown.