A LARGE SUBPOPULATION OF AVIAN T-CELLS EXPRESS A HOMOLOG OF THE MAMMALIAN T-GAMMA/DELTA RECEPTOR

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Joseph T. Sowder, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Chen-Lo H. Chen, University of Alabama at Birmingham; L. Lanier Ager, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Marion M. Chan, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Max Cooper, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 1988-02-01
• Publisher: Rockefeller University Press
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © Rockefeller University Press.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1084/jem.167.2.315
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Experimental Medicine
• ISSN: 0022-1007
• Volume: 167
• Issue: 2
• Start Page: 315
• End Page: 322
• Grant/Funding Information: This study was supported by National Institutes of Health grants CA 16673, CA 13148, and CA 09128.
• Keywords: Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Immunology; Research & Experimental Medicine; Science & Technology
• Research Categories: Biology, Microbiology; Health Sciences, Immunology

Abstract

This report describes an avian TCR molecule, TCR1, whose molecular characteristics, signal-transducing property, and tissue distribution suggest that it is a homologue of the mammalian TCR-γ/δ. TCR1+ cells are the first to be generated in the thymus during ontogeny, preceding other T3+ cells by ~3 d. Unlike their mammalian counterpart, TCR1+ cells constitute a relatively large subpopulation of peripheral T cells in mature chickens. These results suggest a phylogenetically important role for this receptor in T cell development and function.