HUMAN T-CELLS EXPRESSING AN INVARIANT V-ALPHA-24-J-ALPHA-Q TCR-ALPHA ARE CD4- AND HETEROGENEOUS WITH RESPECT TO TCR-BETA EXPRESSION

A population of mature CD4-CD8- double-negative T cells that expresses an invariant V alpha 24-J alpha Q TCR has been identified in humans; the majority of these cells appear to express V beta 11. A closely rel ated invariant TCR alpha chain is also expressed by a population of NK 1+ murine T cells, but these cells may Se either CD4+ or double negati ve. In this report, multiple CD4+ or double-negative V alpha 24+V beta 11+ T-cell clones were isolated, and only the double-negative clones were found to express the invariant TCR alpha chain. Studies of TCR be ta chains expressed by these cells demonstrate that a subset in some d onors use V beta genes other than V beta 11. Characterization of V bet a 11 TCRs in one donor by CDR3-length analysis was also carried out. T he results indicate that multiple V beta 11 TCRs of differing CDR3 len gths may associate with the invariant TCR alpha chain.