REDIRECTING THE COMPLETE T-CELL RECEPTOR CD3 SIGNALING MACHINERY TOWARDS NATIVE ANTIGEN VIA MODIFIED T-CELL RECEPTOR/

We show that a chimeric T cell receptor (TCR) beta chain consisting of a single-chain Fv portion derived from a monoclonal antibody and the full TCR beta chain is able to assemble functionally with endogenous T CR/CD3 components and transfer the antibody specificity as well as the TCR specificity into TCR beta(-) as well as into TCR beta(+) T cells. This allows the incorporation new non-major histocompatibility comple x-restricted ligand specificities into the intact TCR/CD3 complex whic h can exploit the full range of biological activities of the endogenou s TCR signaling machinery. This approach can provide wider opportuniti es to redirect T cells to virus or tumor antigen-bearing cells.