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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

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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 {{Genetics-stub