title: System-wide Analysis of the T Cell Response.
abstract: The T cell receptor (TCR) controls the cellular adaptive immune response to antigens, but our understanding of TCR repertoire diversity and response to challenge is still incomplete. For example, TCR clones shared by different individuals with minimal alteration to germline gene sequences (public clones) are detectable in all vertebrates, but their significance is unknown. Although small in size, the zebrafish TCR repertoire is controlled by processes similar to those operating in mammals. Thus, we studied the zebrafish TCR repertoire and its response to stimulation with self and foreign antigens. We found that cross-reactive public TCRs dominate the T cell response, endowing a limited TCR repertoire with the ability to cope with diverse antigenic challenges. These features of vertebrate public TCRs might provide a mechanism for the rapid generation of protective T cell immunity, allowing a short temporal window for the development of more specific private T cell responses.
authors.affiliation: Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Ruxandra
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Covacu
authors.affiliation: The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel.
authors.forename: Hagit
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Philip
authors.affiliation: Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Merja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jaronen
authors.affiliation: Human Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Kenison
authors.affiliation: Human Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Darko
authors.affiliation: Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Chun-Cheih
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Program, Faculty of Engineering, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel.
authors.forename: Gur
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yaari
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel; Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel.
authors.forename: Yoram
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Louzoun
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.
authors.forename: Liran
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carmel
authors.affiliation: Human Immunology Section, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. Electronic address: ddouek@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Douek
authors.affiliation: The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 52900, Israel. Electronic address: sol.efroni@biu.ac.il.
authors.forename: Sol
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Efroni
authors.affiliation: Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Electronic address: fquintana@rics.bwh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Quintana
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D002147:Calmodulin / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D002147:Calmodulin; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins