PRODUCTIVE RE-ARRANGEMENT AT BOTH ALLELES OF THE T-CELL RECEPTOR BETA-CHAIN LOCUS IN CD4 T-CELL CLONES SPECIFIC FOR INFLUENZA HEMAGGLUTININ

T-cell receptor (TcR) beta-chain usage, and VDJ junctional region sequ ences thereof in a panel of CD4(+) T-cell clones A(d)-, or A(k)- or E( k)-restricted for major antigenic sites of influenza haemagglutinin (H 3 subtype), were investigated. Direct sequencing of cDNA, obtained by polymerase chain reaction, revealed that the majority of T-cell clones contained both productive and non-productive rearranged transcripts. Moreover, T-cell clones specific for p206-227 (A(d)) or p245-265 (A(K) ) contained double-productive re-arranged transcripts (V beta 6 J beta 2.6, V beta 4, J beta 1.2) and (V beta 6 J beta 1.3, V beta 8.2, J be ta 1.5) respectively. However, FACS analysis with V beta-specific mono clonal antibodies established that, for each of these T-cell clones, o nly a single beta-chain was expressed at the cell surface, thereby ind icating post-transcriptional editing.