T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) are small circles of
DNA created in
T-cell
A T cell is a type of lymphocyte. T cells are one of the important white blood cells of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell ...
s during their passage through the
thymus
The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, thymus cell lymphocytes or ''T cells'' mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders. ...
as they rearrange their
TCR
TCR may stand for:
Arts and entertainment
* ''TCR'', the musical project of Robin Moulder and TC Smith
* "TCR", a single by Prolapse
* The Comic Reader, a comics news-fanzine 1961–1984
Businesses and organizations
* TCR (record label), or Thur ...
genes. Their presence indicates maturation of T cells;
TRECs are reduced in
SCID (Severe combined immunodeficiency disease).
Signal joint T-cell receptor excision circles (sjTRECs) might be used as a way to test the age of the individual from a blood sample. The detection of sjTRECs can be further used as a diagnostic tool to monitor the thymic output (e.g., following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation or in cases of AIDS).
See also
*
T cell receptor
The T-cell receptor (TCR) is a protein complex found on the surface of T cells, or T lymphocytes, that is responsible for recognizing fragments of antigen as peptides bound to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. The bindin ...
*
V(D)J recombination
V(D)J recombination is the mechanism of somatic recombination that occurs only in developing lymphocytes during the early stages of T and B cell maturation. It results in the highly diverse repertoire of antibodies/immunoglobulins and T cell re ...
References
T cells
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