title: Early expression of a T-cell receptor beta-chain transgene suppresses rearrangement of the V gamma 4 gene segment.
abstract: beta transgenic mice have a T-cell receptor beta-chain gene that is prematurely expressed on the surface of CD4- CD8- thymocytes and paired with an uncharacterized non-T-cell receptor alpha-chain polypeptide. The rearrangement of the T-cell receptor variable region gamma chain gene segment V gamma 4, a component of the gamma-chain gene that is rearranged and expressed preferentially on thymocytes of normal adult mice, is severely repressed in beta transgenic mice. Consequently no gamma delta T-cell receptor heterodimers are detectable on the surface of adult thymocytes or splenic T cells. These results indicate that cells expressing alpha beta or gamma (V gamma 4)-delta TCRs originate from a common precursor in which the first productive rearrangement of either the beta or gamma locus determines the further differentiation pathway into either alpha beta or gamma delta T cells. The repression of V gamma 4 rearrangement by a preexisting beta-chain gene may be indicative of one of several mechanisms which ensure that gamma delta and alpha beta receptors do not as a rule appear on the surface of the same cell.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: von Boehmer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonneville
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ryser
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lincoln
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kishi
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kisielow
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tonegawa
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta