title: Secretion of a soluble, chimeric gamma delta T-cell receptor-immunoglobulin heterodimer.
abstract: Soluble derivatives of T-cell antigen receptors (TCRs) should prove invaluable for studying the interaction of these receptors with antigens and major histocompatibility complex molecules, for structural studies, and for the identification of unknown ligands. We have engineered chimeric proteins, containing the extracellular domains of the mouse V gamma 1.1-C gamma 4 and V delta 6.2-C delta (V, variable; C, constant) TCR chains fused to the hinge region, CH2 (H, heavy), and CH3 domains of human IgG1 heavy chain, and expressed them by transient transfection in COS cells. We show here that TCR gamma-IgH and TCR delta-IgH chimeric chains are produced intracellularly in significant amounts, that the two chains can assemble correctly to form disulfide-linked, glycosylated heterodimers, and that a selective mechanism allows secretion of correctly paired receptor chains into the medium. Identity of the chimeric secreted TCR gamma delta-IgH heterodimer was confirmed by immunoblot analysis using V gamma 1-specific anti-peptide antiserum and immunoprecipitation analysis using the monoclonal antibody UC7, which is shown to be specific for the TCR delta chain. In addition, the soluble TCR gamma delta-IgH heterodimer can be immunoprecipitated with the anti-clonotypic monoclonal antibody F10/56, which suggests that the fusion protein likely has a structural conformation similar to that of the native TCR. The COS cell expression system may prove useful for the production of additional TCR-IgH fusion proteins.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Eilat
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Coligan
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Shevach
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D002678:Chimera; D006801:Humans; D006825:Hybridomas / Q000276:immunology; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D009838:Oligodeoxyribonucleotides; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins