Abstract
T cell receptors are made up of two polypeptides α and β, which are constructed in each cell by rearrangement of one of a number of V (variable), D (diversity) and J (joining) gene segments. The inclusion of nucleotides not encoded in the germline, or the exclusion of germline nucleotides, at the V-J junction also adds to the number of possible receptors. The tremendous flexibility which this type of construction allows has been well established for immunoglobulins and T cell receptors and many millions of combinations are possible. Besides the well known processes of thymic positive and negative selection, mice use a number of strategies to reduce the enormous T cell receptor repertoire available to them. In this paper these strategies will be outlined and their possible advantages will be discussed.
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Pullen, A., Wakeland, E., Potts, W., Kappler, J., Marrack, P. (1990). The Advantages of Limiting the T Cell Repertoire for Antigen & MHC. In: Demaine, A.G., Banga, JP., McGregor, A.M. (eds) The Molecular Biology of Autoimmune Disease. NATO ASI Series, vol 38. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75133-2_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75133-2_19
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