Direct evidence for chromosomal inversion during T-cell receptor β-gene rearrangements

A germline T-cell receptor variable region (V_β) gene segment (V_β14) has been mapped 10 kilobases to the 3' side of the constant region (C_β2) gene. The V_β14 gene segment is in an inverted transcriptional polarity relative to the diversity-region (D_β) and joining-region (J_β) gene segments and the C_β genes. Analyses of a T-cell clone (J6.19), which has productively rearranged the V_β14 gene segment, indicate that the productive V_β-D_β-J_β rearrangement and its reciprocal flank recombination product are linked and located at either border of a chromosomal inversion. These data demonstrate for the first time a linkage between mammalian V and C genes and verify that a functional T-cell receptor V_β gene can be constructed through a chromosomal inversion.