Observations on Double Albumin. Ii. A Peptide Difference Between Two Genetically Determined Human Serum Albumins*

An unusual serum protein anomaly, the occurrence of two electrophoretically distinct albumins in the same serum, was recently reported by Knedel (2, 3) who observed the abnormality in eight members of two different families and termed the condition "double-albuminemia." A similar anomaly was found by Earle, Hutt, Schmid and Gitlin in 25 of 43 individuals in a single family (4, 5), and additional families with double-albu- minemia have been reported by others (6-10). In all of these studies it was clear that the albumin anomaly was transmitted genetically as an autosomal characteristic, the appearance of two serum albumins in the same individual being a manifestation of the heterozygous state.