Human T-cell receptor alpha-chain genes: location on chromosome 14.

The genes encoding the alpha chain of the human T-cell receptor have been mapped to chromosome 14, the chromosome on which the human immunoglobulin heavy chain locus resides. Thus, genes encoding two different classes of antigen receptor are present on the same chromosome. Furthermore, breaks involving chromosome 14 are frequently seen in tumors of T-cell origin. The potential relation of these chromosome abnormalities to alpha-chain genes is discussed.