| First Author | Emoto Y | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Int Immunol | Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 111-7 |
| PubMed ID | 14688066 | Mgi Jnum | J:87262 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:2683982 | Doi | 10.1093/intimm/dxh008 |
| Citation | Emoto Y, et al. (2004) Functionally active CD8alphabeta+ TCRgammadelta intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes in athymic nu/nu mice. Int Immunol 16(1):111-7 |
| abstractText | Murine intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) encompass a high proportion of TCRgammadelta cells. A vast majority of these TCRgammadelta IEL express CD8alpha, but not CD8beta (CD8alphaalpha homodimer), and are considered to develop in intestinal epithelial layers independently of a functional thymus. Here we show that TCRgammadelta cells expressing both CD8alpha and CD8beta (CD8alphabeta heterodimer) appear in athymic nu/nu mice, although their appearance is random. The IEL comprising CD8alphabeta(+) TCRgammadelta cells expressed pronounced cytolytic and IFN-gamma-producing activities after TCRgammadelta ligation, which were markedly stronger than activities of IEL lacking CD8alphabeta(+) TCRgammadelta cells. Purified CD8alphabeta(+) TCRgammadelta cells expressed strong cytolytic activities and produced large quantities of IFN-gamma after TCR engagement. CD8alphabeta(+) TCRgammadelta cells were also identified among IEL from euthymic C57BL/6 mice, although their abundance varied among individual animals. However, cytolytic and IFN-gamma-producing activities in euthymic C57BL/6 mice were markedly lower than those in athymic nu/nu mice. Our findings suggest that CD8alphabeta(+) TCRgammadelta cells can develop in the intestine independently of a functional thymus/thymic epithelial cells and that they perform biological functions in situ. |
