Recombination sequence-binding protein in thymocytes undergoing T-cell receptor gene rearrangement.

Rearrangement of T-cell antigen receptor and immunoglobulin genes occurs in immature lymphoid cells by an unknown mechanism. To identify components of the rearrangement machinery, we isolated a population of murine thymocytes enriched for rearranging pre-T cells. In the nuclear fraction of these cells, we detected a protein that specifically bound the recombination sequences that flank T-cell receptor and immunoglobulin genes and are required for their rearrangement. This protein recognized both heptamer and nonamer motifs of the recombination sequence, separated by either 12 or 23 bp. The protein complexed with the recombination sequence oligonucleotide had an apparent molecular mass of 30 kDa. The binding characteristics of the protein and its presence in rearranging thymocytes and cell lines suggest that it could serve as the recognition unit of a recombinase complex.