title: Variation in human T cell receptor V beta and J beta repertoire: analysis using anchor polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: Anchor polymerase chain reaction has been applied to the study of human T cell receptor beta chain repertoire in peripheral blood. The use of this technique has demonstrated that considerable variation in V beta and J beta usage exists, both within and between individuals. Particular V beta families, including V beta 6, V beta 4 and V beta 12 are commonly utilized, while families such as V beta 10, V beta 11 and V beta 15 are rare in all individuals studied. Marked interindividual variation in V beta usage was detected for V beta 12 and V beta 4. Biased usage of J beta elements is a prominent feature of peripheral repertoire, while there is no evidence for preferential V beta-J beta recombination events. Biased J beta usage in expressed V beta-D beta-J beta-C beta transcripts, subject to selection, was the same as that in aberrant, unselected D beta-J beta-C beta transcripts, implying that bias resulted from events relating to rearrangement itself, in the absence of selection. N-region diversity showed some evidence for preferential insertion of deoxyguanosine, consistent with the action of terminal deoxytransferase. No P-nucleotide incorporation was seen in association with intact J beta elements. These data provide evidence of some of the variation in human T cell receptor beta chain repertoire and provide a basis for comparisons with sequences which may be obtained in autoimmune and superantigen-mediated diseases.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, Great Britain.
authors.forename: W M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Moss
authors.forename: J I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Bell
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression; D015333:Gene Rearrangement, beta-Chain T-Cell Antigen Receptor; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D004247:DNA