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T-cell receptors in immune responses

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Book cover Inhibitors to Coagulation Factors

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 386))

Abstract

T lymphocytes play a central role in the generation of both humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. Although T-cells mediate diverse effector functions, most recognize antigenic peptide presented by molecules encoded within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The fine specificity of a T-cell is determined by a heterodimeric receptor for antigen (TCR) displayed on the cell surface. The TCR present on the majority of T-cells is composed of an alpha and a beta chain which are similar to immunoglobulins (Ig) in both sequence and gene organization. Genes for the alpha and beta chains of the TCR are encoded in germline DNA as discontinuous gene segments that rearrange specifically in T-cells during development. The variable regions of each of these chains are responsible for antigen recognition and are encoded by juxtaposed variable (V), diversity (D) (for beta chains), and joining (J) gene segments (reviewed in Toyonaga and Mak, 1987; Wilson et al., 1988; Davis and Bjorkman, 1988). A critical difference between TCR and Ig is that somatic mutation does not appear to play a role in the generation of TCR diversity (Ikuta et al., 1985), which emphasizes the importance of germline polymorphism of TCR gene segments. Knowledge of both the extent and variability of the germline TCR repertoire is critical to understanding the diversity of potential T-cell specificities.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Immunogenetics, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, USA

    M. A. Robinson

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  1. M. A. Robinson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Mount Sinai Medical School, New York, New York, USA

    Louis M. Aledort

  2. American Red Cross Biomedical Services, Rockville, Maryland, USA

    Leon W. Hoyer

  3. Wayne State University School of Medicine and The Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan, USA

    Jeanne M. Lusher

  4. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

    Howard M. Reisner  & Gilbert C. White II  & 

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© 1995 Plenum Press, New York

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Robinson, M.A. (1995). T-cell receptors in immune responses. In: Aledort, L.M., Hoyer, L.W., Lusher, J.M., Reisner, H.M., White, G.C. (eds) Inhibitors to Coagulation Factors. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 386. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0331-2_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0331-2_10

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-8001-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0331-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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