Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 20, 2026

Characterization of Glycoproteins with the Immunoglobulin Fold by X-Ray Crystallography and Biophysical Techniques
08:58

Characterization of Glycoproteins with the Immunoglobulin Fold by X-Ray Crystallography and Biophysical Techniques

Published on: July 5, 2018

Pathological crystallization of human immunoglobulins

Ying Wang1, Aleksey Lomakin, Teru Hideshima

  • 1Materials Processing Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. g09@mit.edu

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|August 1, 2012
PubMed

Condensation of Igs has been observed in pharmaceutical formulations and in vivo in cases of cryoglobulinemia. We report a study of monoclonal IgG cryoglobulins overexpressed by two patients with multiple myeloma. These cryoglobulins form crystals, and we measured their solubility lines. Depending on the supersaturation, we observed a variety of condensate morphologies consistent with those reported in clinical investigations. Remarkably, the crystallization can occur at quite low concentrations. This suggests that, even within the regular immune response to infections, cryoprecipitation of Ig can be possible.

More Related Videos

High-throughput Crystallization of Membrane Proteins Using the Lipidic Bicelle Method07:26

High-throughput Crystallization of Membrane Proteins Using the Lipidic Bicelle Method

Published on: January 9, 2012

Microcrystallography of Protein Crystals and In Cellulo Diffraction09:35

Microcrystallography of Protein Crystals and In Cellulo Diffraction

Published on: July 21, 2017

Related Concept Videos

Crystal Growth: Principles of Crystallization01:25

Crystal Growth: Principles of Crystallization

Crystallization is a phase transformation process in which crystals are precipitated from a supersaturated solution or formed from other sources. During crystallization, atoms or molecules arrange themselves into a well-defined, rigid crystal lattice to minimize energy.
Initiating crystallization involves manipulating the concentration of the solute and the temperature of the solution. Since crystal growth occurs when the ratio of concentration and solubility of the solute in the solvent – the...
Humoral Immune Responses01:36

Humoral Immune Responses

Overview
Amyloid Fibrils03:03

Amyloid Fibrils

Amyloid fibrils are aggregates of misfolded proteins.  Under most circumstances, misfolded proteins are either refolded by chaperone proteins or degraded by the proteasome. However, in the case of a mutation or a disease, these proteins can accumulate to form large clusters and often further assemble to form elongated fibers, called fibrils. 
Amyloid deposits were observed as early as 1639 in the liver and the spleen.   In 1854, Rudolph Virchow performed iodine staining, normally used to...
Antibody Actions01:26

Antibody Actions

Antibodies, or immunoglobulins, are critical players in the immune system's arsenal against invading pathogens. Produced by B cells and plasma cells, their primary role is to detect and bind to specific antigens, molecules found on the surface of pathogens like bacteria or viruses. Beyond antigen recognition, antibodies perform several vital functions that contribute to immune defense.
Neutralization
Antibodies can bind to pathogens, preventing them from infecting host cells. This process...
Antibody Structure01:10

Antibody Structure

Overview
Antibodies, also known as immunoglobulins (Ig), are essential players of the adaptive immune system. These antigen-binding proteins are produced by B cells and make up 20 percent of the total blood plasma by weight. In mammals, antibodies fall into five different classes, which each elicits a different biological response upon antigen binding.
The Y-Shaped Structure of Antibodies Consists of Four Polypeptide Chains
Antibodies consist of four polypeptide chains: two identical heavy...
Recrystallization: Solid–Solution Equilibria01:10

Recrystallization: Solid–Solution Equilibria

Recrystallization is a purification technique used to separate impurities from solid compounds. In this technique, no chemical reactions occur. Instead, it exploits physical properties only, specifically, the solubility differences between the desired compound and impurities, either at a single temperature or at different temperatures, and under other selected conditions. The solid-solution equilibrium (solubility equilibrium) of each component in the solution represents a binary phase...