University of Washington other research news

University researchers reported in Science the sequence of the beta T cell receptor locus, the largest stretch of human chromosome analyzed to date. The locus comprises a complex family of genes on chromosome 7. The researchers were able to differentiate 19 pseudogenes and 22 relics from the 46 functional genes. The locus spans almost 685 kb.

T cell receptors are expressed as one type for each type of T cell. They interact with the major histocompatibility complex, and antigens, to initiate the immune system's attack on invading microbes as well as cancer cells. ...