Onset of T-cell receptor Vβ8.1 and Dβ2.1 V(D)J recombination during thymus development of inbred mouse strains

The assembling of T-cell receptor (TCR alpha/beta and gamma/delta) genes depends on the V(D)J recombination occurring in early thymocytes during thymus ontogeny. The V(D)J recombination reaction is directed by a recombinase complex from the RAG-1 and RAG-2 genes, and is modulated by several other gene products. Due to the essential role of the TCR beta in thymocyte differentiation, it is important to define with precision the temporal emergence of the TCR beta recombination in normal non-manipulated mouse strains. We analysed the onset of V(D)J recombination between TCRV beta 8.1 and J beta 2.1 gene segments during fetal development of the thymus in three non-manipulated inbred strains of mice; BALB-c, C57BL/6 and CBA. We show that the emergence of the V(D)J recombination at the TCR beta locus differs among strains, suggesting an in vivo role of the different genetic backgrounds in driving gene rearrangements. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.