Open AccessTCRβ rearrangements without a D segment are common, abundant, and public
Author(s) -
Peter C. de Greef,
Rob J. de Boer
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2104367118
Subject(s) - t cell receptor , biology , repertoire , genetics , acquired immune system , evolutionary biology , t cell , immune system , physics , acoustics
T cells play an important role in adaptive immunity. An enormous clonal diversity of T cells with a different specificity, encoded by the T cell receptor (TCR), protect the body against infection. Most TCRβ chains are generated from a V, D, and J segment during recombination in the thymus. Although complete absence of the D segment is not easily detectable from sequencing data, we find convincing evidence for a substantial proportion of TCRβ rearrangements lacking a D segment. Additionally, sequences without a D segment are more likely to be abundant within individuals and/or shared between individuals. Our analysis indicates that such sequences are preferentially generated during fetal development and persist within the elderly. Summarizing, TCRβ rearrangements without a D segment are not uncommon, and tend to allow for TCRβ chains with a high abundance in the naive repertoire.