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TCR trans-Rearrangements: Biological Significance in Antigen Recognition vs the Role as Lymphoma Biomarker

Atef Allam^* and Dieter Kabelitz^1,

^* Laboratory of Immune Cell Biology, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892; and Institute of Immunology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany

V(D)J rearrangements occur within loci of TCR and BCR genes, thus generating the diversity of the AgR repertoire. In addition, interlocus V(D)J rearrangements occur, giving rise to so-called "trans-rearrangements." Such trans-rearrangements increase the diversity of the immune receptor repertoire and can be expressed as functional chimeric TCR proteins on the surface of T cells. Although chimeric receptors are not pathogenic per se, the frequency of AgR trans-rearrangements correlates with the level of genetic instability and thus could be used as a predictive biomarker for lymphoma risk.