H. Jacobs et al., DOMAINS OF THE TCR-BETA-CHAIN REQUIRED FOR EARLY THYMOCYTE DEVELOPMENT, The Journal of experimental medicine, 184(5), 1996, pp. 1833-1843
The T cell receptor beta (TCR beta) chain controls the developmental t
ransition from CD4(-)CD8(-) to CD4(+)8(+) thymocytes. We show that the
extracellular constant region and the transmembrane region, but not t
he variable domain or cytoplasmic tail of the TCR beta chain are requi
red for this differentiation step. TCR beta mutant chains lacking the
cytoplasmic tail can be found at the cell surface both in functional T
CR/CD3 complexes and in a GPI-anchored monomeric form indicating that
the cytoplasmic tail of the TCR beta chain functions as an ER retentio
n signal. The concordance between cell surface expression of the mutan
t chains as TCR/CD3 complexes and their capacity to mediate thymocyte
differentiation supports the CD3 mediated feedback model in which preT
CR/CD3 complexes control the developmental transition from CD4(-)CD8(-
) to CD4(+)CD8(+) thymocytes.