| First Author | Krotkova A | Year | 1997 |
| Journal | J Exp Med | Volume | 186 |
| Issue | 5 | Pages | 767-75 |
| PubMed ID | 9271592 | Mgi Jnum | J:111098 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3653014 | Doi | 10.1084/jem.186.5.767 |
| Citation | Krotkova A, et al. (1997) Allelic exclusion in pTalpha-deficient mice: no evidence for cell surface expression of two T cell receptor (TCR)-beta chains, but less efficient inhibition of endogeneous Vbeta--> (D)Jbeta rearrangements in the presence of a functional TCR-beta transgene. J Exp Med 186(5):767-75 |
| abstractText | Although individual T lymphocytes have the potential to generate two distinct T cell receptor (TCR)-beta chains, they usually express only one allele, a phenomenon termed allelic exclusion. Expression of a functional TCR-beta chain during early T cell development leads to the formation of a pre-T cell receptor (pre-TCR) complex and, at the same developmental stage, arrest of further TCR-beta rearrangements, suggesting a role of the pre-TCR in mediating allelic exclusion. To investigate the potential link between pre-TCR formation and inhibition of further TCR-beta rearrangements, we have studied the efficiency of allelic exclusion in mice lacking the pre-TCR-alpha (pTalpha) chain, a core component of the pre-TCR. Staining of CD3+ thymocytes and lymph node cells with antibodies specific for Vbeta6 or Vbeta8 and a pool of antibodies specific for most other Vbeta elements, did not reveal any violation of allelic exclusion at the level of cell surface expression. This was also true for pTalpha-deficient mice expressing a functionally rearranged TCR-beta transgene. Interestingly, although the transgenic TCR-beta chain significantly influenced thymocyte development even in the absence of pTalpha, it was not able to inhibit fully endogeneous TCR-beta rearrangements either in total thymocytes or in sorted CD25+ pre-T cells of pTalpha-/- mice, clearly indicating an involvement of the pre-TCR in allelic exclusion. |
