T-cell receptor

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a membrane-bound protein complex expressed on the surface of T lymphocytes that recognises and binds to antigen fragments presented by major histocompatibility complex molecules on antigen-presenting cells; the T-cell receptor is composed of alpha and beta chains forming a heterodimer that, together with the CD3 signalling complex, triggers T-cell activation upon binding its specific antigen-MHC combination; the enormous diversity of T-cell receptors, generated through V(D)J recombination during T-cell development in the thymus, is what enables the adaptive immune system to respond to the virtually limitless variety of foreign antigens encountered throughout life