title: T cell receptor gene polymorphisms associated with anti-insulin, autoimmune T cells in diabetes-prone NOD mice.
abstract: The great majority of insulin-specific T cell clones isolated from islets of NOD mice react with insulin peptide B-(9-23) (amino acids 9-23 of the insulin B chain). The T cell receptors of these clones contain diverse beta-chains but restricted alpha-chains. The dominant alpha-chain motif is a V alpha 13 segment (10 out of 13) combined to either a J alpha 45 or a J alpha 34 segment (eight out of 13). Furthermore, nine out of 10 of these V alpha 13 segments are a product of a novel NOD TCR V alpha gene which we have termed V alpha 13.3. Analysis of V alpha 13 transcripts from splenic cDNA libraries from the NOD, BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice revealed significant differences between strains. The NOD sequences contained both V alpha 13.1 and the novel V alpha 13.3. The BALB/c contained the previously reported V alpha 13.1 and V alpha 13.2, but not the V alpha 13.3 sequence identified in the NOD anti-insulin T cell clones. The C57BL/6 had V alpha 13.1 and V alpha 13.3 plus two additional novel sequences which we have termed V alpha 13.4 and V alpha 13.5. These V alpha 13 subfamily members differed by two to four amino acids in either the CDR1 region or adjoining the CDR2 region. The frequency of utilization of the different V alpha 13 subtypes varied dramatically between strains. In the NOD spleen, V alpha 13.3 was detected 79% of the time, compared to 21% for V alpha 13.1. In contrast, the C57BL/6 spleen contained only 7% of V alpha 13.3 sequences compared to the other subfamily members present (V alpha 13.1: 27%; V alpha 13.4: 56%; V alpha 13.5: 10%). MHC polymorphisms or other unknown selective pressures may contribute to these differences in V alpha 13 utilization. We hypothesize that the presence and frequent utilization of the V alpha 13.3 T cell receptor element is involved in targeting insulin B-(9-23) and may be related to diabetes susceptibility of NOD mice.
authors.affiliation: Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver 80262, USA.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Simone
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Wegmann
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Eisenbarth
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000235:genetics*; D002999:Clone Cells; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D007328:Insulin / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016688:Mice, Inbred NOD; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000276:immunology*; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta