Prototypic T cell receptor and CD4-like coreceptor are expressed by lymphocytes in the agnathan sea lamprey

AUTOR(ES)

Pancer, Zeev

FONTE

National Academy of Sciences

RESUMO

All jawed vertebrates have highly diverse lymphocyte receptors, which allow discrimination between self and nonself antigens as well as the recognition of potential pathogens. Key elements of the anticipatory recombinatorial immune system in jawed vertebrates are the TCR, Ig, and MHC genes, but their ancestral genes have not been found in more basal vertebrates. In this study, we extended our analysis of the transcriptome of lymphocyte-like cells in the lamprey to identify the TCR-like and CD4-like genes. The structural features of these genes and their preferential expression in lymphocytes make them attractive candidates for ancestral TCR and CD4 genes. The TCR-like gene contains both V (variable) and J (joining) sequences in its first exon and exists as a single-copy gene that is invariant. Thus, the TCR-like gene cannot account for the receptor diversity that is required for the immune responses reported for lamprey, but it could have been easily modified to serve as an evolutionary precursor of modern TCR and Ig genes.

Documentos Relacionados

• Immortalization of CD4+ and CD8+ T Lymphocytes by Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1 Tax Mutants Expressed in a Functional Molecular Clone
• Alterations in T-Cell Receptor Vβ Repertoire of CD4 and CD8 T Lymphocytes in Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected Children
• Double-negative (CD4-CD8-) lymphocytes bearing T-cell receptor alpha and beta chains in normal human skin.
• Vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 induces T-cell antigen receptor-dependent activation of CD4+T lymphocytes.
• Domain analyses of the Runx1 transcription factor responsible for modulating T-cell receptor-β/CD4 and interleukin-4/interferon-γ expression in CD4+ peripheral T lymphocytes