Macroglobulinemia with Bence Jones Proteinuria: Comparison of Urinary Protein and L Chain of Serum Proteins.

Edelman and Gally (1) have recently shown that an individual's Bence Jones proteins are chemically and physically similar to the low molecular weight polypeptides (L chains) obtained by reductive cleavage of his myeloma proteins. Indeed, Putnam (2) has shown that peptide maps of the tryptic digests of oxidized Bence Jones proteins correspond to a portion of the peptide map of similarly treated autologous serum myeloma protein. Edelman and Benacerraf (3) have postulated that the manufacture of the L polypeptide chains is asynchronous in multiple myeloma, and thus a part of the cell output appears in the urine as Bence Jones protein, whereas other chains are incorporated into the circulating myeloma globulin. It was of interest, therefore, to examine the uncommon instance of Bence Jones proteinuria in a patient with Waldenstrdm's macroglobulinemia and particularly to compare the L chains of the serum macroglobulins and y2-globulins with the urinary Bence Jones protein. Evidence is presented to show that the Bence Jones protein is chemically and antigenically similar to the L chain derived from the patient's macroglobulin and antigenically deficient when compared to the L chain of the autologous 7 S y2-globulin. Materials and Methods