Identification and characterization of the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire of the Cynomolgus macaque (Macaca Fascicularis)

Abstract

Background: Non-human primates (NHP) are desirable as animal models of human disease because they share behavioral, physiological, and genomic traits with people. Hence, NHP recapitulates manifestations of disease not observed in other animal species. The Macaca fascicularis (i.e., Cynomolgus macaque) is an NHP species extensively used for biomedical research, but the TCR repertoire has not been characterized yet. Result: We used the genomic sequences to design primers to identify the expressed TCR repertoire by single-cell RNAseq. The data analysis from 22 unique samples was used to assign a functional status to each TCR gene. We identified and analyzed the TRA/D, TRB, and TRG loci of the Cynomolgus macaque. Conclusion: The genomic organization of the Cynomolgus macaque has great similarity with Macaca mulatta (i.e., Rhesus macaque) and they shared >90% sequence similarity with the human TCR repertoire. These data will facilitate the analysis of T cell immunity in Cynomolgus macaques.