Abstract
The T-cell antigen receptor is a heterodimeric molecule composed of α- and β-subunits of relative molecular mass 40,000–50,000 (refs 1–6). Recently, the genes encoding both the β-7–9 and α-10–12 chains have been cloned. By comparing amino-acid and nucleic-acid sequences, it is clear that these genes encode the α- and β-proteins of the T-cell receptor13,14. In addition, a third receptor-like gene, the γ-chain gene, has been identified15, which has many structural and sequence characteristics in common with the α- and β-chain genes. The role of the γ-chain gene in T-cell development is unknown. We have reported recently that the β-chain genes are transcriptionally turned on in the thymus at about day 17 of fetal development16. Here we report that the α-chain also is transcriptionally activated during this time, but that the γ-chain gene is active in the thymus at day 14, reaches a peak steady-state level at day 15 and rapidly declines thereafter. If the γ-chain gene has a functional role, it would seem to be involved very early in T-cell development, before the mature T-cell receptor is expressed.
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Snodgrass, H., Dembić, Z., Steinmetz, M. et al. Expression of T-cell antigen receptor genes during fetal development in the thymus. Nature 315, 232–233 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/315232a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/315232a0
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