title: Detection of constant domain of human T cell antigen receptor alpha-chain via novel monoclonal antibody 7F18.
abstract: The αβ T cell antigen receptor (TCR) endows T lymphocytes with immune specificity and controls their effector functions. Each person possesses a vast repertoire of TCRs that is generated by the well-studied processes of somatic recombination and thymic selection. While many antibodies specific for TCRβ variable domains are available, antibodies specific for human TCRα are rare. We now report a novel monoclonal antibody, 7F18, which binds to human TCRα constant region, with specificity for a denatured epitope that can be visualized by SDS-PAGE followed by Western blot. Both immature and mature TCR α-chain products can be visualized, making 7F18 potentially applicable to various biochemical assays of multiprotein complex assembly and maturation. This new monoclonal antibody provides a tool that can potentially facilitate the biochemical analysis of comprehensive populations of human αβ TCR complexes that need not be limited to small subsets of the repertoire.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine , Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Brendan K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.forename: Kyoo-A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.forename: Adam G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Schrum
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D019556:COS Cells; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D019295:Computational Biology; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D006801:Humans; D047468:Immunoprecipitation; D019169:Jurkat Cells; D010455:Peptides / Q000235:genetics; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary / Q000235:genetics; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D010455:Peptides; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta