Functional assembly of chimeric T-cell receptor chains.

We have generated cytotoxic T-cell hybridomas expressing chimeric T-cell receptors (cTCR) with an antibody-type specificity for the TNP hapten. Transfectants expressing the cTCR genes could mediate specific lysis of haptenated tumor cell lines of various types and secrete IL-2 upon stimulation with TNP modified cells. In a previous report, we showed that double-gene transfectants expressing either V H Cα and V L Cβ or V H Cβ and V L Cα could be activated by TNP-modified stimulator cells or TNP proteins immobilized on plastic