title: Reciprocal expression in CD4 or CD8 subsets of different members of the V alpha 11 gene family correlates with sequence polymorphism.
abstract: Previous staining studies with TCR V alpha 11-specific mAbs showed that V alpha 11.1/11.2 (AV11S1 and S2) expression was selectively favored in the CD4+ peripheral T cell population. As this phenomenon was essentially independent of the MHC haplotype, it was suggested that AV11S1 and S2 TCRs exert a preference for recognition of class II MHC molecules. The V alpha segment of the TCR alpha-chain is suggested to have a primary role in shaping the T cell repertoire due to selection for class I or II molecules acting through the complementarity determining regions (CDR) 1 alpha and CDR2 alpha residues. We have analyzed the repertoire of V alpha 11 family members expressed in C57BL/6 mice and have identified a new member of this family; AV11S8. We show that, whereas AV11S1 and S2 are more frequent in CD4+ cells, AV11S3 and S8 are more frequent in CD8+ cells. The sequences in the CDR1 alpha and CDR2 alpha correlate with differential expression in CD4+ or CD8+ cells, a phenomenon that is also observed in BALB/c mice. With no apparent restriction in TCR J alpha usage or CDR3 alpha length in C57BL/6, these findings support the idea of V alpha-dependent T cell repertoire selection through preferential recognition of MHC class I or class II molecules.
authors: Department of Immunology, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors: B C
authors: BC
authors: Sim
authors: N R
authors: NR
authors: Gascoigne
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology*; D015332:Gene Rearrangement, alpha-Chain T-Cell Antigen Receptor; D015333:Gene Rearrangement, beta-Chain T-Cell Antigen Receptor; D006239:Haplotypes; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta