A third type of murine T-cell receptor gene

Abstract
By subtractive cDNA [complementary DNA] hybridizations, a new species of T cell receptor cDNA clone whose predicted amino acid sequence has homology to variable, constant, joining and diversity segments of Ig and T cell receptors was isolated. The corresponding genomic sequence was also rearranged in several T cell DNA. The 4 potential N-linked glycosylation sites, frequency of expression and predicted MW (27,800) of this molecule make it a likely candidate for the .alpha.-chain of the T cell receptor. Expression data also indicate that this gene may be activated at a later stage of T cell differentiation than the .beta.-chain.