First Author | Eberl G | Year | 2004 |
Journal | Science | Volume | 305 |
Issue | 5681 | Pages | 248-51 |
PubMed ID | 15247480 | Mgi Jnum | J:91566 |
Mgi Id | MGI:3047471 | Doi | 10.1126/science.1096472 |
Citation | Eberl G, et al. (2004) Thymic origin of intestinal alphabeta T Cells Revealed by Fate Mapping of RORgammat+ Cells. Science 305(5681):248-51 |
abstractText | Intestinal intraepithelial T lymphocytes (IELs) are likely to play a key role in host mucosal immunity and, unlike other T cells, have been proposed to differentiate from local precursors rather than from thymocytes. We show here that IELs expressing the alphabeta T cell receptor are derived from precursors that express RORgammat, an orphan nuclear hormone receptor detected only in immature CD4+CD8+ thymocytes, fetal lymphoid tissue-inducer (LTi) cells, and LTi-like cells in cryptopatches within the adult intestinal lamina propria. Using cell fate mapping, we found that all intestinal alphabeta T cells are progeny of CD4+CD8+ thymocytes, indicating that the adult intestine is not a significant site for alphabeta T cell development. Our results suggest that intestinal RORgammat+ cells are local organizers of mucosal lymphoid tissue. |