Determining Alleles of the C2 Gene by Southern Blotting

The second component of human complement, C2, is a 102-kDa single-chain glycoprotein. It provides the catalytic subunit for the C3/C5 convertases of the classical and lectin pathways of complement activation. The single gene encoding C2 spans about 18 kb of DNA and is composed of 18 exons (1 ). It has been mapped to the class III region of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), 421 bp telomeric of the complement factor B gene (2 ) and about 92 kb centromeric of the gene encoding the major heat-shock protein HSP 70 (3 ).