Abstract
T cell receptors for antigen (TCR) V-genes are under a very restrictive evolutionary pressure in order to maintain their biological activities of interacting with MHC class I or II molecules and processed peptides at the protein level. This is in contrast to immunoglobulin V-genes which can mutate more freely. As we have discussed before, 17 or less nucleotide differences between any two mouse λ light chain V-genes can be due to somatic mutations induced by antigens, allelic variations, and the combination of these two mechanisms. Thus, a cut-off of 17 nucleotide differences has been used to estimate the numbers of the other human and mouse immunoglobulin chain V- genes. Except for mouse heavy chains where experimental study is not yet available, our estimated numbers are in good agreement with experimental findings. For TCR V-genes, however, this cut-off value should be modified as illustrated in the present analysis. Our estimation of the number of human TCR β chain V-genes is also in good agreement with the recent experimental study of sequencing 685 kb of that gene locus. Estimations for the numbers of human α mouse α and β chain V-genes will wait for future experimental verification.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 580-583 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Immunology and Cell Biology |
Volume | 75 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1997 |
Keywords
- T cell receptor for antigen
- V-gene numbers
- α chain
- β chain
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
- Immunology
- Cell Biology