T cell receptor

noun

variants or T-cell receptor

plural T cell receptors or T-cell receptors

: an antigen receptor on the surface of a T cell that is composed of two transmembrane polypeptide chains covalently linked by disulfide bonds and that initiates T cell activation upon binding with a specific antigenic peptide fragment combined with a major histocompatibility complex molecule and displayed on the surface of an antigen-presenting cell

… the T cell receptor actually recognizes not a solitary peptide but a complex consisting of a peptide and the surrounding region of the class I MHC molecule.

—Thierry Boon

… the T-cell receptor … acts as the antigen receptor for T cells one of whose principal functions is to recognize and destroy virus-infected cells …

—Carl Branden et al.

—abbreviation TCR

Word History

First Known Use

1972, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

T cell receptor

noun

variants or T-cell receptor

: an antigen receptor on the surface of a T cell that is composed of two transmembrane polypeptide chains covalently linked by disulfide bonds and that initiates T cell activation upon binding with a specific antigenic peptide fragment combined with a major histocompatibility complex molecule and displayed on the surface of an antigen-presenting cell

… the T cell receptor actually recognizes not a solitary peptide but a complex consisting of a peptide and the surrounding region of the class I MHC molecule.

—Thierry Boon

… the T-cell receptor … acts as the antigen receptor for T cells one of whose principal functions is to recognize and destroy virus-infected cells …

—Carl Branden et al.

—abbreviation TCR