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Southern blot analysis of T‐cell receptor gene rearrangements in cynomolgus monkeys, and identification of a progenitor cell HPRT mutation
Author(s) -
Mattano S. S.,
Zimmer D. M.,
Harbach P. R.,
Hunter T. C.,
Aaron C. S.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
environmental and molecular mutagenesis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1098-2280
pISSN - 0893-6692
DOI - 10.1002/em.2850260205
Subject(s) - biology , t cell receptor , hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase , microbiology and biotechnology , mutant , gene rearrangement , mutation , genetics , mutagen , mutation frequency , gene , germline mutation , t cell , dna , immune system
Abstract Increases in peripheral blood T‐lymphocyte HPRT mutant frequency may reflect either a number of independent HPRT gene mutational events or clonal proliferation of a single HPRT mutant. Sequence analysis of HPRT mutations in conjunction with T‐cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangement pattern analysis can distinguish these possibilities. Our laboratory previously characterized a nonhuman primate model for in vivo mutation studies using the clonal HPRT mutation assay. In the present study we report the use of probes for human TCR B and y genes to characterize TCR rearrangements in cynomolgus monkeys. Together, these methods were used to examine a monkey which exhibited a mean spontaneous HPRT mutant frequency (MF) of 16.4 × 10 −6 , compared to the normal mean MF of 3.03 × 10 −6 . The elevated MF resulted from the occurrence of a single HPRT mutation in a lymphocyte progenitor cell or stem cell, since T‐cell clones isolated from the monkey exhibited a G to T transversion at base pair 539 in the HPRT coding region, and had unique rearrangements of TCR y along with an apparent germline TCR B configuration. In a preliminary in vivo mutation study, the animal was treated with the investigational potent mutagen and antitumor agent adozelesin (U‐73975). No increase in HPRT mutant frequency was observed. The HPRT mutant clones isolated after treatment showed rearrangement of both TCR y and B genes. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.