Subpopulations of human peripheral T gamma delta lymphocytes

In the search for the genes encoding the alpha and beta chains of the T-cell receptor, Tonegawa et al. discovered a third class of rearranging T-cell specific genes. This finding led them to postulate the existence of additional forms of T-cell receptors. In this article, Frédéric Tribel and Thierry Hercend briefly discuss recent results, which may help in the delineation of human peripheral blood gamma delta+ subsets based on the molecular structure of this receptor.