Development of T3/T cell receptor gene expression in human pre-T neoplasms

Acquisition of mature T cell function and the T cell antigen receptor repertoire occur in the thymus. In an effort to delineate the cascade of events leading to T cell maturation, we analyzed a series of clonal human precursor T cell neoplasms representing early, middle, and late stages of intrathymic differentiation. Rearrangements of the T cell receptor beta and gamma genes appear concurrently and are preceded by surface expression of the 3A1 (CD7) molecule. Subsequent transcription of the beta gene is coordinated with surface expression of T1 (CD5) and T11 (CD2), transcription of T3 delta mRNA, and the appearance of intracellular T3 (CD3) protein. As late events, T alpha gene transcripts appear and, finally, T3, the multichain complex linked to the T cell receptor, is presented on the cell surface. Findings reported here provide a model of the developmental orchestration of genes encoding antigen recognition in human T cells.