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Vγ9 and Vδ2 T cell antigen receptor genes and butyrophilin 3 (BTN3) emerged with placental mammals and are concomitantly preserved in selected species like alpaca (Vicugna pacos)

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Abstract

Human Vγ9Vδ2 T cells recognize phosphorylated products of isoprenoid metabolism (phosphoantigens) PAg with TCR comprising Vγ9JP γ-chains and Vδ2 δ-chains dependent on butyrophilin 3 (BTN3) expressed by antigen-presenting cells. They are massively activated in many infections and show anti-tumor activity and so far, they have been considered to exist only in higher primates. We performed a comprehensive analysis of databases and identified the three genes in species of both placental magnorders, but not in rodents. The common occurrence or loss of in silico translatable Vγ9, Vδ2, and BTN3 genes suggested their co-evolution based on a functional relationship. In the peripheral lymphocytes of alpaca (Vicugna pacos), characteristic Vγ9JP rearrangements and in-frame Vδ2 rearrangements were found and could be co-expressed in a TCR-negative mouse T cell hybridoma where they rescued CD3 expression and function. Finally, database sequence analysis of the extracellular domain of alpaca BTN3 revealed complete conservation of proposed PAg binding residues of human BTN3A1. In summary, we show emergence and preservation of Vγ9 and Vδ2 TCR genes with the gene of the putative antigen-presenting molecule BTN3 in placental mammals and lay the ground for analysis of alpaca as candidate for a first non-primate species to possess Vγ9Vδ2 T cells.

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Abbreviations

PAg:

phosphoantigen

BTN:

Butyrophilin

Vp:

Vicugna pacos

HMBPP:

(E)-4-hydroxy-3-methyl-but-2-enyl pyrophosphate

IPP:

Isopentenyl pyrophosphate

BTN3A1-ED:

Butyrophilin 3 A1 extracellular domain

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Acknowledgments

We thank Thomas Dandekar for his suggestions in phylogenetic analysis and revising the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Virology and Immunobiology, Julius-Maximilian’s University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Mohindar M. Karunakaran, Lisa Starick & Thomas Herrmann

  2. Department of Veterinary Sciences, Institute for Animal Physiology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany

    Thomas W. Göbel

  3. Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany

    Lutz Walter

  4. Institut für Virologie und Immunbiologie, Versbacher Strasse 7, 97078, Würzburg, Germany

    Thomas Herrmann

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  1. Mohindar M. Karunakaran
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  2. Thomas W. Göbel
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  4. Lutz Walter
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  5. Thomas Herrmann
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Correspondence to Thomas Herrmann.

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Authors Contribution

M.M.K and T.H. conceived the study and wrote the manuscript. M.M.K., T.H., T.G., and L.W. designed and interpreted the experiments. T.G provided biological specimens. M.M.K. performed most experiments including data base analysis. L.S. performed experiments. All authors have seen and approved the manuscript.

M.M.K. was supported by a grant of the German Excellence Initiative to the Graduate School of Life Sciences, University of Würzburg and the DAAD STIBET Doktoranden program

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Karunakaran, M.M., Göbel, T.W., Starick, L. et al. Vγ9 and Vδ2 T cell antigen receptor genes and butyrophilin 3 (BTN3) emerged with placental mammals and are concomitantly preserved in selected species like alpaca (Vicugna pacos). Immunogenetics 66, 243–254 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-014-0763-8

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