Antigen Description
CD3 epsilon is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily of cell surface receptors and is comprised of five invariable chains (designated as gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta and eta) ranging in size from 16-28 kDa. CD3 epsilon is closely associated with the T cell antigen receptor (TCR), and is present on thymocytes, CD8+ and CD4+ positive cells. The CD3 epsilon complex mediates signal transduction. It plays a major role in signaling during antigen recognition, leading to T cell activation. The TCR/CD3E complex of T lymphocytes consists of either a TCR alpha/beta or TCR gamma/delta heterodimer coexpressed at the cell surface with the invariant subunits of CD3 labeled gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, and eta. CD3 epsilon is expressed on all T cells of all mouse strains. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a large genomic region or gene family found in most vertebrates containing many genes with important immune system roles. In humans, the MHC spans almost 4 megabases of chromosome 6 and includes more than 200 known genes, of which about half have known immmunological functions. The best known genes in the MHC region are the subset that encodes cell-surface antigen-presenting proteins. In humans, these genes are referred to as human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes. The most intensely studied HLA genes are: HLA A, HLA B, HLA C, HLA DPA, HLA DPB1, HLA DQA1, HLA DQB1, HLA DRA, and HLA DRB1. In humans, the HLA is divided into three regions: Class I, II, and III. The A, B, and C genes belong to HLA class I while the six D genes belong to class II.
Pathway
Adaptive Immune System, organism-specific biosystem; Costimulation by the CD28 family, organism-specific biosystem; Cytokine Signaling in Immune system, organism-specific biosystem; Downstream TCR signaling, organism-specific biosystem; Generation of second messenger molecules, organism-specific biosystem; Immune System, organism-specific biosystem; Interferon Signaling, organism-specific biosystem;