Sizing of the human T cell receptor alpha locus and detection of a large deletion in the Molt-4 cell line.
The human T cell receptor alpha (TCR-alpha) chain gene consists of discontinuous DNA segments encoding multiple variable (V), multiple joining (J), and one constant (C) region. Unlike other immunoglobulin or TCR genes, however, the TCR-alpha locus exhibits an unusual dispersal of J segments that occupy a region of greater than 50 kilobases (kb) upstream of the C region, with the exact size still unknown. We report here the study of the TCR-alpha genetic locus by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), which permits the separation of large DNA fragments. Analysis of DNA prepared from normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells, human endothelial cells, and a B cell line demonstrates that both V and C sequences are contained within a single 400-kb SfiI restriction fragment. PFGE analysis of the T cell line Molt 4 suggests a greater than 600-kb deletion involving the TCR-alpha gene.
Roth
M S
MS
Department of Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor.
Collins
F S
FS
Ginsburg
D
D
D002460:Cell Line; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D005796:Genes; D006801:Humans; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*
D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D004247:DNA; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes