Genetic recombination within the human T-cell receptor alpha-chain gene complex

Genetic analyses of the human T-cell receptor (TCR) alpha-chain genes indicate that recombination events may occur frequently within this gene complex. Examination of the inheritance of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) detected by using probes for constant or variable region gene segments made it possible to assign TCR alpha haplotypes to the 16 parents and 43 offspring of eight families studied. A total of six RFLP, three for the constant region and three for variable region gene segments, were examined in the present studies. Most enzyme and probe combinations tested revealed no polymorphism and those finally selected for the study showed limited polymorphism in that only two or, in one case, three allelic forms of the gene were seen. In spite of limited variability at this level, extensive heterogeneity was observed for the combinations of markers present in haplotypes, suggesting that frequent recombination events have occurred. Most strikingly, multiple combinations of RFLP occurring in close proximity of the TCR alpha constant region gene were observed in this study. A high recombination frequency for the TCR alpha gene complex is further supported by the observation that two children, one in each of two families, inherited recombinant TCR alpha haplotypes.