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Updated: Oct 19, 2025

Streamlined Single Cell TCR Isolation and Generation of Retroviral Vectors for In Vitro and In Vivo Expression of Human TCRs
Published on: September 10, 2017
TCRβ rearrangements without a D segment are common, abundant, and public
Peter C de Greef1, Rob J de Boer2
1Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands p.c.degreef@uu.nl.
Abstract:
T cells play an important role in adaptive immunity. An enormous clonal diversity of T cells with a different specificity, encoded by the T cell receptor (TCR), protect the body against infection. Most TCRβ chains are generated from a V, D, and J segment during recombination in the thymus. Although complete absence of the D segment is not easily detectable from sequencing data, we find convincing evidence for a substantial proportion of TCRβ rearrangements lacking a D segment. Additionally, sequences without a D segment are more likely to be abundant within individuals and/or shared between individuals. Our analysis indicates that such sequences are preferentially generated during fetal development and persist within the elderly. Summarizing, TCRβ rearrangements without a D segment are not uncommon, and tend to allow for TCRβ chains with a high abundance in the naive repertoire.
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