A functional T3 molecule associated with a novel heterodimer on the surface of immature human thymocytes (Reprinted from Nature, vol 322, pg 179 181, 1986)

The known T-cell receptors (TCRs) involved in the recognition of antigen and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules are glycoproteins comprised of polymorphic disulphide-linked alpha- and beta-chains(1-5). The genes encoding these chains are homologous to immunoglobulin genes and consist of V (variable), J(joining) and C (constant) regions that rearrange during development(6-13). TCRs are expressed relatively late in thymocyte development and only in association with an invariant molecular complex of proteins termed T3 (refs 3, 14). Immature thymocytes do not express the TCR-T3 complex but do express messenger RNA encoding a third rearranging T-cell receptor-like gene, termed T gamma (refs 13,15-20). Here we report a clone of normal immature T4(-)T8(-) human thymocytes, designated CII, which does not express mature mRNA for T alpha or T beta genes, but does express high …