Characterization of Arrangement and Expression of the T Cell Receptor Gamma Locus in the Sandbar Shark

Overview

Journal Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

Specialty Science

Date 2009 May 15

PMID 19439654

Citations 26

Authors

Hao Chen

Sarika Kshirsagar

Ingvill Jensen

Kevin Lau

Roman Covarrubias

Samuel F Schluter

John J Marchalonis

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Ig and T cell receptor (TCR) genes consist of separate genomic elements, which must undergo rearrangement and joining before a functional protein can be expressed. Considerable plasticity in the genomic arrangement of these elements has occurred during the evolution of the immune system. In tetrapods, all Ig and TCR chain elements are arranged as translocons. In teleosts, the Ig heavy and TCR chains are translocons, but light chain genes may occur as clusters. However, in chondrichthyes, all of the Ig light and heavy chain genes are arranged as clusters. These clusters vary in number from <10 to several hundred, depending on isotype and species. Here, we report that the germ-line gene for the TCR gamma chain in a chondrichthyan, the sandbar shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus), is present as a single locus arranged in a classic translocon pattern. Thus, the shark utilizes 2 types of genomic arrangements, the unique cluster organization for Ig genes and the "conventional" translocon organization for TCR genes. The TCR gamma translocon contains at least 5 V region genes, 3 J segment genes, and 1 C segment. As expected, the third hypervariable segment (CDR3), formed by the rearrangement of the Vgamma and Jgamma segments, contributed the major variability in the intact V region structure. Our data also suggest that diversity may be generated by mutation in the V regions.

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