First Author | Staton TL | Year | 2006 |
Journal | Nat Immunol | Volume | 7 |
Issue | 5 | Pages | 482-8 |
PubMed ID | 16582913 | Mgi Jnum | J:112592 |
Mgi Id | MGI:3662813 | Doi | 10.1038/ni1319 |
Citation | Staton TL, et al. (2006) CD8+ recent thymic emigrants home to and efficiently repopulate the small intestine epithelium. Nat Immunol 7(5):482-8 |
abstractText | Prevailing knowledge dictates that naive alphabeta T cells require activation in lymphoid tissues before differentiating into effector or memory T cells capable of trafficking to nonlymphoid tissues. Here we demonstrate that CD8(+) recent thymic emigrants (RTEs) migrated directly into the small intestine. CCR9, CCL25 and alpha(4)beta(7) integrin were required for gut entry of CD8(+) RTEs. After T cell receptor stimulation, intestinal CD8(+) RTEs proliferated and acquired a surface phenotype resembling that of intraepithelial lymphocytes. CD8(+) RTEs efficiently populated the gut of lymphotoxin-alpha-deficient mice, which lack lymphoid organs. These studies challenge the present understanding of naive alphabeta T cell trafficking and suggest that RTEs may be involved in maintaining a diverse immune repertoire at mucosal surfaces. |