PREDOMINANT USE OF A T-CELL RECEPTOR-V-BETA GENE FAMILY IN SIMIAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS GAG-SPECIFIC CYTOTOXIC LYMPHOCYTES-T IN A RHESUS-MONKEY

To explore the structural basis for AIDS virus recognition by CD8+ lymphocytes, we sought to determine whether there is a diverse or restricted usage of T-cell receptors (TCR) by simian immunodeficiency virus of macaques (SIV(mac)) Gag-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) in the rhesus monkey. Six Gag-specific CTL clones were independently generated from an SIV(mac)-infected rhesus monkey. All six CTL clones recognized a single SIV(mac) Gag peptide in association with a single major histocompatibility complex class I gene product, Mamu-A*01. TCR alpha-chain sequences from these six CTL clones employed four different V-alpha-families and five different J-alpha-gene segments. In contrast, five of the six CTL clones expressed V-beta-genes that were members of the same family, a human V-beta-23 homolog. Furthermore, only one J-beta-gene was expressed by four of the six CTL clones. These results indicate that TCR of SIV(mac) Gag-specific CTL from a rhesus monkey can exhibit a restricted usage of V-beta-gene families and J-beta-genes.