Abstract
The genes for the T-cell receptor, like the immunoglobulin genes, are rearranged as DNA. The mechanism of this rearrangement is not clear; unequal crossover between chromosomes and the loop-ing-out and excision of the excess DNA have both been suggested. We isolated small polydisperse circular (spc) DNAs from mouse thymocytes and cloned them into a phage vector. Of the 56 clones we analysed, nine contained sequences homologous to T-cell receptor α-chain joining (Jα) segments. We have characterized one of these clones; it contains one Jα segment, and the product out of the recombination of a variable region of the a-chain gene (Vα) with a Jα gene segment. This is the first demonstration of the presence in extrachromosomal DNA of a reciprocal recombination product of any rearranging immunoglobulin or T-cell receptor gene. The finding verifies that Vα–Jα joining can occur by the looping-out and excision of chromosomal DNA.
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Fujimoto, S., Yamagishi, H. Isolation of an excision product of T-cell receptor α-chain gene rearrangments. Nature 327, 242–243 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/327242a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/327242a0
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