clark@mshri.utoronto.ca (11/28/90)
Dear T Cell Receptor Colleague: At the last two conferences on the topic of gd T cells there was a significant amount of discussion concerning the nomenclature of the g- and d-chain genes. For both the human and the mouse there are competing nomenclatures for the g-chain locus. For the d-chain locus there is another problem. Recent data indicate that many of the a- and d-chain V-region families are interchangeable, and in some instances exactly the same V-regions are used as a- and d-chains. It would be nice to have a standard way of naming the various V-regions under various circumstances. At Schloss Elmau there was an session devoted to this topic. It was decided that there would be an objective consideration of the nomenclature that would include three different committees. One committee consists of Tak Mak and myself. We will compile and align the V-region sequences from mouse and human beings. We think it would be informative to have the sequences available both in written form and on GenBank and EMBL. We will turn over this information to a second committee to decide on a nomenclature. This committee will consist of doctors Elvin Kabat, Alan Williams, Jack Strominger, Willie Born, Cazenave, and Phillipa Marrack, with Phillippe Kourilsky, Oliver Smithies and Hugh McDevitt as possible alternates; this assumes that some or all of these people will accept the responsibility. When this committee completes its nomenclature business we will publish a compilation of the sequences along with its new nomenclature. The third committee consists of our colleagues in the field. I am asking for your help in compiling all of the TCR sequences, especially the a- and d-chain V-regions, and their respective appropriate references. In our efforts to compile sequences we do not wish to minimize the efforts of workers who actually isolated and sequenced V-regions, and we make every attempt to give these individuals due credit. In addition, there are a large number of sequences that are not published, and we would like to incorporate as many of these as possible. If your sequences are in GenBank already, we will probably find them. If you want to be sure, or if you know of extensions or corrections that should be made to the GenBank data, drop us a note listing the accession number, name, and reference. If you have V-region sequences that are not yet in GenBank (published, in press or unpublished) that you would like to be included in this nomenclature project, send them to us, including the appropriate reference, or if unpublished, the cell type from which they were isolated, persons to be cited, cDNA, PCR, genomic clone etc. The time schedule for the completion of this project is such that any of your preliminary data will be likely to be published before we actually generate a publication. However, if requested, we would be glad to address on an individual basis, questions of publication timing, authorship, etc. The best way to transfer the nucleotide sequences without introducing errors of transcription is to send them via E-mail. However, a floppy disk containing the sequences (text file of either IBM [preferred for human sequences] or Macintosh [preferred for mouse sequences] format) is fine. As a last resort, we will enter the sequence from a reprint or any other written format. MOUSE sequences should be sent via Email to shedrick@ucsd.edu (Internet) or shedrick@ucsd (Bitnet) MOUSE sequences on floppy disk or paper should be mailed to Steve Hedrick, Dept. of Biology 0063, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0063 U.S.A. HUMAN sequences should be sent via Email to clark@mshri.utoronto.ca (Internet) or clark@utoroci (Netnorth/Bitnet) HUMAN sequences on floppy disk or paper should be mailed to Tak Mak, The Ontario Cancer Institute, 500 Sherbourne St, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4X 1K9 Please do not send us appeals for one or another nomenclature; we have nothing to do with that, we are simply compiling information. If you have questions concerning the nomenclature, please refer them to Jack Strominger, temporary chairman of the nomenclature committee. Sincerely, Stephen M. Hedrick Tak W. Mak Stephen P. Clark