| First Author | Woodward J | Year | 2001 |
| Journal | Eur J Immunol | Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 11 | Pages | 3329-38 |
| PubMed ID | 11745350 | Mgi Jnum | J:72588 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:2153282 | Doi | 10.1002/1521-4141(200111)31:11<3329::aid-immu3329>3.0.co;2-w |
| Citation | Woodward J, et al. (2001) Identification and characterization of lymphoid precursors in the murine intestinal epithelium. Eur J Immunol 31(11):3329-38 |
| abstractText | Although in vivo evidence supports a role for the murine intestinal epithelium in the extrathymic generation of certain intraepithelial T lymphocytes (IEL), no intraepithelial cells with in vitro lymphoid progenitor potential have yet been demonstrated. Using reaggregate fetal thymic organ culture techniques, we show that a subset of CD3(-) cells isolated from the intestinal epithelium of young mice is capable of generating T cells (alpha beta and gamma delta) and NK1.1(+) cells in vitro. A novel IEL subset bearing a low level of CD45 was identified and found to comprise cells expressing highly immature lymphoid markers including CD34, c-kit, CD122, CD127 and high levels of CD16 and CD44. This subset represents 20-30% of intraepithelial CD45(+) cells from 4-week-old wild-type and nude mouse strains and contains cells with in vitro T cell differentiation capacity. The identification of such an early pluripotent precursor phenotype within the intestinal epithelium implies that the potential for T cell generation exists at this site, and suggests that extrathymic T cell generation may occur within the epithelium itself. |
