Loss of T-Cell Receptors

T-cell receptors are membrane-bound receptors that reside on the surface of T lymphocytes (T cells) and that recognize foreign antigens presented by other immune molecules and participate in T cell activation. In humans, there are multiple genes of the TCR family that have become pseudogenized; current estimates based on multiple studies place the number of pseudogenized receptors specific to the human lineage at four. One such pseudogenized receptor gene is the V10 variable gene of the TCR gamma locus (TCRG-V10), in which a point mutation in humans has rendered a necessary splice site nonfunctional. No similar mutation has been recorded in other primates, and the gene displays appropriate splicing in non-human species.