Molecular cloning and sequencing of cDNA encoding eight new rhesus macaque TCRBV gene families

• Published in: Immunogenetics (New York) 2000-04, Vol.51 (4-5), p.387-391
• Main Authors: Currier, J R, Stevenson, K S, Robinson, M A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Base Sequence; Cloning, Molecular; DNA, Complementary - genetics; Genes, T-Cell Receptor beta; Macaca mulatta; Macaca mulatta - genetics; Macaca mulatta - immunology; Molecular Sequence Data; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; TCRB gene
• ISSN: 0093-7711; 1432-1211
• DOI: 10.1007/s002510050635

The predominant form of the T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) on peripheral T lymphocytes in primates is a cell surface heterodimeric molecule consisting of alpha and beta polypeptide chains, both of which are members of the immunoglobulin gene superfamily (Davis and Bjorkman 1988). The ligand for this receptor is a complex of short peptide antigens bound noncovalently to class I or class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Recognition of this complex by the alpha and beta chains of the TCR is the first step of a fundamental mechanism for antigen-specific T-cell activation (Zinkernagel and Doherty 1974). Recent crystal structure analysis has confirmed that the molecular specificity of the TCR is conferred by the solvent-exposed membrane-distal variable region of the alpha and beta chains (Garboczi et al. 1996; Garcia et al. 1996). The enormous diversity of TCRs is generated by the somatic rearrangement and juxtaposition of noncontiguous variable (V), diversity (D), joining (J), and constant (C) genes, and the insertion and deletion of nontemplate (N) nucleotides at junctions of the rearranged gene segments (Kronenberg et al. 1986). The availability of multiple V gene segments in the germline contributes significantly to the diversity of peptide antigens that can be recognized. Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) are currently employed in a number of important model systems of infectious disease protection and pathogenesis. Therefore, sequence information for all available functional V gene segments is of fundamental importance to the study and understanding of the molecular nature of T-cell responses in these animals. In humans, the TCRB gene complex contains 49-51 functional genes (LaRoque and Robinson 1996), which are divided into 25 families based upon 75% or greater nucleotide sequence identity. Although cDNA sequence has been obtained for 17 rhesus macaque TCRBV gene families (Jaeger et al. 1994; Levinson et al. 1992), Southern hybridization studies suggest that the germline repertoire contains at least 25 TCRBV gene families, each of which is orthologous to a functional human TCRBV gene (Charmley et al. 1995). In this report, a full-length cDNA sequence is described for an additional eight previously uncharacterized rhesus macaque TCRBV gene families.