Human T cell receptor V alpha gene polymorphism

The T cell receptor (TcR) is a heterodimer composed of an alpha,beta- or a gamma,delta-chain. The receptor is expressed on the cell surface in association with the CD3 complex, which in turn is composed of at least four chains (gamma, delta, epsilon, and zeta). In this review, we will summarize the recent findings on the genomic organization of the four T cell receptor genes, and the polymorphisms detected in the variable regions of these genes.