The sizes of the CDR3 hypervariable regions of the murine T-cell receptor beta chains vary as a function of the recombined germ-line segments

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 May 1;90(9):4319-23. doi: 10.1073/pnas.90.9.4319.

Abstract

A method using PCR amplification and primer extension with fluorescent oligonucleotides was developed to analyze T-cell repertoires. The sizes of the hypervariable CDR3-like regions of the murine T-cell antigen receptor beta chains were measured for all possible V beta-J beta combinations. This analysis shows that beta chains are distributed into at least 2000 groups, a value that provides a lower limit to their complexity. The CDR3 sizes appear to be dependent on the J beta and especially the V beta segment used and correlates with amino acid sequence motifs in the corresponding CDR1 region. This feature of T-cell receptors is discussed.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Cloning, Molecular
  • Codon / genetics
  • DNA / genetics
  • DNA / isolation & purification
  • Genetic Variation*
  • Haplotypes
  • Major Histocompatibility Complex
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred BALB C
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Inbred Strains
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Molecular Weight
  • Oligodeoxyribonucleotides
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / genetics*
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / isolation & purification
  • Recombination, Genetic*
  • Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology*
  • Thymus Gland / immunology

Substances

  • Codon
  • Oligodeoxyribonucleotides
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta
  • DNA