Human T cell receptor Vα gene polymorphism

Abstract

The T cell receptor (TcR) is a heterodimer composed of an α,β- or a γ,δ-chain. The receptor is expressed on the cell surface in association with the CD3 complex, which in turn is composed of at least four chains (γ, δ, ε, and ζ). In this review, we will summarize the recent findings on the genomic organization of the four T cell receptor genes, and the polymorphisms detected in the variable regions of these genes.