Evidence for a stepwise evolution of the CD3 family

T W Göbel1, J P Dangy

  • 1Institute for Animal Physiology, Munich, Germany. goebel@tiph.vetmed.uni-muenchen.de

Summary

This study reveals that the T-cell receptor (TCR) CD3 complex evolved stepwise, with chickens possessing only two linked CD3 genes, unlike mammals. This finding highlights significant structural differences between mammalian and nonmammalian vertebrates, supporting an ancestral CD3gammadelta protein.

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