The interchange of derivatives of human B2-microglobulin in HLA alloantigens

Derivatives of human Beta 2 microglobulin (B2M) have been made by attaching various groups to amino groups in the peptide. In this way ¹²⁵iodine, dinitrobenzyl, and m-maleimidobenzoyl groups have been introduced. These derivatives of B2M were able to associate with HLA chains and could be displaced again by native B2M. The rate of dissociation of HLA chains and derivatives of B2M is comparable with the intrinsically labelled native dimer. In some cases, particularly with [¹²⁵I]-B2M, the rate of dissociation appears to be smaller than for native B2M.