light chain

light chain

noun

Either of the two smaller polypeptide chains in an immunoglobulin molecule, consisting of an antigen-binding portion with a variable amino acid sequence and a constant region that occurs in two different forms in humans.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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"light chain." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 10 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/light-chain>.

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light chain. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/light-chain

The smaller of the two types of polypeptide chains in an antibody molecule. A light chain consists of an antigen-binding portion with a variable amino acid sequence, and a constant region with an amino acid sequence that is relatively unchanging. The light chains are attached to the heavy chains so that the variable regions of both lie alongside each other.

Compare heavy chain