T-cell receptor gamma delta and gamma transgenic mice suggest a role of a gamma gene silencer in the generation of alpha beta T cells.
A T lymphocyte expresses on its surface one of two types of antigen receptor, T-cell receptor alpha beta or T-cell receptor gamma delta, encoded by a pair of somatically rearranged alpha and beta or gamma and delta genes. It has been suggested that alpha beta T cells are generated only from precursor T cells that failed to rearrange gamma and delta genes in a functional form. However, we found that transgenic mice constructed with functionally rearranged gamma and delta genes produce a normal number of alpha beta T cells. The transgene gamma present in these alpha beta T cells is repressed apparently through an associated cis DNA element (silencer). We propose that some T-cell precursors are committed to generate alpha beta T cells independent of the rearrangement status of their gamma gene and that this commitment involves activation of a factor(s) that interacts with the gamma gene-associated silencer.
Ishida
I
I
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139.
Verbeek
S
S
Bonneville
M
M
Itohara
S
S
Berns
A
A
Tonegawa
S
S
D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D003360:Cosmids; D015342:DNA Probes; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D015342:DNA Probes; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell