In less than 10 pages, Mark Davis provides an account of his landmark discovery of the nature of the T-cell receptor.
By nature, T-cells can recognize a number of foreign objects through cooperation with the MHC, or Major Histocompatability Complex. The mechanism behind their partnership earlier in the century was unknown. Davis decided to approach the issue by finding a way to clone interesting lymphocyte genes quickly by essentially hybridizing cDNA between cell types and "subtracting" out common genes, leaving only the unique ones for analysis. By analyzing differences between both T and B cells, Davis found a series of genes that could elucidate the variable regions of the T cell and how they are able to recognize so many different pathogens.
After a whirlwind of events coming down to his last clone, Davis found a region that seemed like a classic rearranging gene. With the help of enthusiastic Japanese scientists, the alpha, beta, gamma, and delta chains were identified, completing the set of four T-Cell receptors we have become familiar with today. Today's consensus model has one receptor, where the binding site is ultimately designed to recognize both the antigen and the MHC.
Daniel
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