Isolation of a T cell specific cDNA clone possibly involved in the T cell activation pathway

Abstract

A T cell specific cDNA clone, YT15, has been isolated using the technique of subtractive hybrldlzation. This gene is expressed predominantly in thymocytes and encodes a newly identified Intracytoplasmic protein specific. for T cells, since neither the nucleotide sequence of the cDNA clone nor the deduced amino acid sequence has significant homology to sequences in the GenBank or NBRF databases. The level of transcription of this gene in human leukemlc call line, Jurkat, can be reduced by stimulation of the T cell receptor CD3 (TcR-T3) complex. In addition, the levels of these messages are also greatly enhanced in some TcR/T3 receptor mutants. These findings suggest that this gene product may be involved in a T call activation pathway within the cell. © 1989 Oxford University Press.