| First Author | Singer PA | Year | 1988 |
| Journal | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | Volume | 85 |
| Issue | 20 | Pages | 7729-33 |
| PubMed ID | 2902638 | Mgi Jnum | J:9414 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:57875 | Doi | 10.1073/pnas.85.20.7729 |
| Citation | Singer PA, et al. (1988) T-cell receptor alpha-chain variable-region haplotypes of normal and autoimmune laboratory mouse strains. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 85(20):7729-33 |
| abstractText | We used Southern blotting and mRNA analysis to characterize allelic polymorphisms among genes of the T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) alpha-chain variable-region (V alpha) locus in a large panel of normal and autoimmune-susceptible or autoimmune-contributing strains of laboratory mice. Four major V alpha haplotypes were defined on the basis of multiple restriction fragment length polymorphisms for each of nine V alpha subfamily probes used. Southern blotting also revealed haplotype-specific loss of bands within some V alpha subfamilies, consistent with the deletion of particular V alpha genes or sets of genes from haplotype to haplotype. In contrast to the situation in the V beta locus, however, deletion of entire V alpha subfamilies was not observed. The nature of V alpha allelic variability was further explored by using an RNase protection assay to analyze expressed V alpha mRNA sequences in thymocyte RNA. Such analysis revealed both shared and unique patterns of V alpha mRNA expression among the different haplotypes and supported the conclusion that haplotype differences sometimes involve V alpha gene deletions. Interestingly, a disproportionate number of, but not all, autoimmune-susceptible strains, including NZB, SJL, SWR, PL/J, and NOD, share a common V alpha haplotype. The identification of murine TCR V alpha haplotypes should provide a basis for understanding the role of TCR diversity in normal immunoregulatory and immune-response phenomena, as well as autoimmune-disease predisposition. |
