Abstract
T lymphocytes recognize foreign molecules using the T-cell receptor (TCR), a disulphide-linked heterodimer closely associated with the CD3 polypeptide complex on the cell surface. The TCR αβ heterodimers seem largely responsible for the recognition properties of both helper (TH) and cytotoxic (Tc) T cells1,2. Recently, a second CDS-associated T-cell receptor heterodimer, γδ, has been described3–9. Cells bearing the γδ receptor appear before those bearing αβ during thymic ontogeny8,9 and persist as a minor component (1–10%) of mature peripheral T cells. Their function is unknown. As there are a limited number of functional TCR Vγ gene segments10, the size and potential diversity of the Vδ repertoire is important for the number of different antigens that may be recognized by γδ heterodimers. The δ-chain locus is located 75 kilobases (kb) 5′ to the TCR Cα coding region11,12, raising the possibility that the α and δ V-region repertoires may overlap. Also, analysis of rearrangements at the δ-chain locus in developing thymocytes shows distinct fetal and adult patterns11 indicating that there may be differences between the fetal and adult Vdelta; repertoires. To address these questions, we have characterized a large number of δ-containing complementary DNA clones from adult double-negative thymocytes (CD4–8–), an immature population that is enriched for γδ-bearing cells5. We find that a limited number of Vδ sequences are used, showing little overlap with known adult Vαs and differing significantly from fetal Vδs But as two D elements may participate simultaneously in Vδ gene assembly, and random nucleotides may be added at any one of three junctional points, the potential number of different δ chains that can be made in the adult thymus is very large (∼1013).
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Francis Elliott, J., Rock, E., Patten, P. et al. The adult T-cell receptor 5-chain is diverse and distinct from that of fetal thymocytes. Nature 331, 627–631 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/331627a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/331627a0
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