Genomic organization of the mouse T cell receptor V alpha family.
Based on the analysis of V alpha gene segment deletions in a panel of T lymphomas, we have constructed a map of the mouse T cell receptor alpha/delta region and assigned the relative position of 72 distinct V gene segments. Three major observations have emerged from such studies. First, members of a given V alpha subfamily are not organized in discrete units along the chromosome but largely interspersed with members of other V alpha subfamilies. Second, analysis of the deletion map suggests the existence of repetitive patterns (V alpha clusters) in the chromosomal distribution of the V alpha gene segments. Third, the present-day organization of the V alpha/delta region may be readily explained by a series of sequential duplications involving three ancestral V alpha clusters. Direct evidence for the existence of these unique structural features has been gained by cloning approximately 370 kb of DNA and positioning 26 distinct V alpha gene segments belonging to six different subfamilies. Finally, the relationships existing between the V alpha/delta gene segment organization and usage are discussed in terms of position-dependent models.
Jouvin-Marche
E
E
Département d'Immunologie, Institut Pasteur (CNRS LA 359), Paris, France.
Hue
I
I
Marche
P N
PN
Liebe-Gris
C
C
Marolleau
J P
JP
Malissen
B
B
Cazenave
P A
PA
Malissen
M
M
D000818:Animals; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002460:Cell Line; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015329:Gene Rearrangement, T-Lymphocyte; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D005810:Multigene Family; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell