IMMUNOPHENOTYPIC ANALYSIS OF THE T-CELL RECEPTOR V-BETA REPERTOIRE INCD4(-BLOOD() AND CD8(+) LYMPHOCYTES FROM NORMAL PERIPHERAL)

The antigenic specificity of the majority of T lymphocytes in the peri pheral blood is determined by the combination of alpha and beta variab le region chains present in the T cell receptor complex, Currently, th e V beta chains are grouped into 25 families, Historically, determinat ion of V beta usage has relied on detection of gene rearrangement on t he nucleic acid level; however, with the increased availability of mon oclonal antibodies to the product of these genomic rearrangements, imm unophenotypic methods are rapidly becoming a reliable alternative meth od for studying the usage of V beta regions by T cells and T cell subs ets, In the present study, multiparametric flow cytometry was used to determine the use of 10 V beta chains on CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in the peripheral blood of 28 normal donors, By obtaining absolute lympho cyte counts at the time blood was drawn, the absolute number of both C D4(+) and CD8(+) cells using particular V beta regions could be determ ined. Additionally, the intradonor consistency of V beta usage was exa mined by obtaining blood from 5 of the volunteers at an interval of ap proximately 1 year, The results of this study suggest a fairly homogen eous pattern of use for these V beta regions, The most striking longit udinal differences were observed in one individual who underwent a ton sillectomy midway between the T cell receptor V beta determinations, ( C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.