title: Secretion of a chimeric T-cell receptor-immunoglobulin protein.
abstract: To produce sufficient quantities of soluble T-cell receptor protein for detailed biochemical and biophysical analyses we have explored the use of immunoglobulin--T-cell receptor gene fusions. In this report we describe a chimeric gene construct containing a T-cell receptor alpha-chain variable (V) domain and the constant (C) region coding sequences of an immunoglobulin gamma 2a molecule. Cells transfected with the chimeric gene synthesize a stable protein product that expresses immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor antigenic determinants as well as protein A binding sites. We show that the determinant recognized by the anticlonotypic antibody A2B4.2 resides on the V alpha domain of the T-cell receptor. The chimeric protein associates with a normal lambda light chain to form an apparently normal tetrameric (H2L2, where H = heavy and L = light) immunoglobulin molecule that is secreted. Also of potential significance is the fact that a T-cell receptor V beta gene in the same construct is neither assembled nor secreted with the lambda light chain, and when expressed with a C kappa region it does not assemble with the chimeric V alpha C gamma 2a protein mentioned above. This indicates that not all T-cell receptor V regions are similar enough to immunoglobulin V regions for them to be completely interchangeable.
authors.forename: N R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Gascoigne
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Goodnow
authors.forename: K I
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Dudzik
authors.forename: V T
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Oi
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D002678:Chimera; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005796:Genes; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D010954:Plasmacytoma; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D007135:Immunoglobulin Variable Region; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell