T-cell receptor excision circles
Appearance
T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) are small circles of DNA created in T-cells during their passage through the thymus as they rearrange their TCR genes.[1] TRECs are reduced in SCID(Severe combined immunodeficiency disease)
Single joint T-cell receptor excision circles (sjTRECs) were in the news as a way to test the age of the individual from a blood sample.[2] 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 case of AIDS [3]
See also
References
- ^ http://allergycases.org/2010/05/t-cell-receptor-excision-circles-trecs.html
- ^ telegraph.co.uk
- ^ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Detection+of+T+cell+receptor+circles+(TRECs)+as+biomarkers+for+de+novo+T+cell+synthesis+using+a+quantitative+polymerase+chain+reaction–enzyme+linked+immunosorbent+assay+(PCR–ELISA)