Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Non-Viral Engineering of Primary Human T Cells via Homology-Mediated End-Joining Targeted Integration of Large DNA Templates
Published on: May 9, 2025
Genetic vaccination targeting T-cell receptors
A P Godillot1, Q Fang, T Higgins
1Rheumatology Division, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.
T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) genes (which consist of variable (V), diversity (D), joining (J) and constant (C) segments) undergo rearrangement during T-cell development and result in the expression of a disulfide linked heterodimer (α and ß chains) on the surface of mature T-cells (1,2). The TCR confers specificity to each T-cell for antigen recognition (in the context of major histocompatibility (MHC) molecules (1,3). Clonal TCR-ß chain gene rearrangements have been demonstrated in DNA samples derived from cutaneous tumors, peripheral blood lymphocytes and lymph nodes of patients with cutaneous T cell lymphomas (CTCL) (4-6). Together with immunohistologic data (7), these findings indicate that CTCL is a clonal disease of malignant T cells that express α/ß-TCR.
T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) genes (which consist of variable (V), diversity (D), joining (J) and constant (C) segments) undergo rearrangement during T-cell development and result in the expression of a disulfide linked heterodimer (α and ß chains) on the surface of mature T-cells (1,2). The TCR confers specificity to each T-cell for antigen recognition (in the context of major histocompatibility (MHC) molecules (1,3). Clonal TCR-ß chain gene rearrangements have been demonstrated in DNA samples derived from cutaneous tumors, peripheral blood lymphocytes and lymph nodes of patients with cutaneous T cell lymphomas (CTCL) (4-6). Together with immunohistologic data (7), these findings indicate that CTCL is a clonal disease of malignant T cells that express α/ß-TCR.
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