TY - JOUR
T1 - Regulation of N-region diversity in antigen receptors through thymocyte differentiation and thymus ontogeny
AU - Bogue, M.
AU - Gilfillan, S.
AU - Benoist, C.
AU - Mathis, D.
PY - 1992
Y1 - 1992
N2 - The random addition of 'N nucleotides' by terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase (TdT) is an important component of the diversity of T-cell receptor genes. We have investigated the expression of TdT during thymocyte differentiation and thymus ontogeny. TdT gene transcripts are confined to immature thymocytes of the cortex, being downregulated concomitantly with recombination-activating gene transcripts after positive selection of mature medullary T cells. According to in situ hybridization, TdT RNA is absent from the neonatal thymus, but it appears 3 to 5 days after birth, just before the appearance of significant N-region diversity in T-cell receptor junctional sequences but clearly after the thymus attains competence at clonal deletion.
AB - The random addition of 'N nucleotides' by terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase (TdT) is an important component of the diversity of T-cell receptor genes. We have investigated the expression of TdT during thymocyte differentiation and thymus ontogeny. TdT gene transcripts are confined to immature thymocytes of the cortex, being downregulated concomitantly with recombination-activating gene transcripts after positive selection of mature medullary T cells. According to in situ hybridization, TdT RNA is absent from the neonatal thymus, but it appears 3 to 5 days after birth, just before the appearance of significant N-region diversity in T-cell receptor junctional sequences but clearly after the thymus attains competence at clonal deletion.
KW - T-cell receptor
KW - T-cell repertoire
KW - T-lymphocyte maturation
KW - terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0026443729&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.89.22.11011
DO - 10.1073/pnas.89.22.11011
M3 - Article
C2 - 1438306
AN - SCOPUS:0026443729
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 89
SP - 11011
EP - 11015
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 22
ER -