The Jβ segment of the T cell receptor contributes to the Vβ-specific T cell expansion caused by staphylococcal enterotoxin B and Urtica dioica superantigens

✍ Scribed by Philippe Musette; Anne Galelli; Paolo Truffa-Bachi; Willy Peumans; Philippe Kourilsky; Gabriel Gachelin

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 539 KB
• Volume: 26
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0014-2980
• DOI: 10.1002/eji.1830260317

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

We have used a new polymerase chain reaction‐based technique to analyze at the clonal level the CDR3 diversity and the Jβ usage associated with the Vβ‐dependent T cell receptor (TCR) recognition of two superantigens: the staphylococcal enterotoxin B and the Urtica dioica agglutinin. Our results show that a subset of Jβ elements is preferentially expanded in a given Vβ family, independently of the nature of the superantigen. By contrast, the CDR3 loop does not contribute significantly to the T cell expansion induced by the superantigens. We conclude that the Jβ segment of the TCR β chain, but not the CDR3 region, participates in superantigen binding, presumably by influencing the quaternary structure of the TCR β chain.