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. 1996 Oct;89(2):268–273. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2567.1996.d01-740.x

Development and cytolytic function of intestinal intraepithelial T lymphocytes in antigen-minimized mice.

M Kawaguchi-Miyashita 1, K Shimizu 1, M Nanno 1, S Shimada 1, T Watanabe 1, Y Koga 1, Y Matsuoka 1, H Ishikawa 1, K Hashimoto 1, M Ohwaki 1
PMCID: PMC1456489  PMID: 8943725

Abstract

Intraepithelial T lymphocytes in the small intestine (IEL) consist of alpha beta T-cell receptor (TCR)-bearing T cells (alpha beta-IEL) and gamma delta TCR-bearing T cells (gamma delta-IEL). Development and cytolytic activation of alpha beta-IEL sharply attenuate in germ-free (GF) mice fed a natural diet (Nat-GF), but the number and cytotoxicity of gamma delta-IEL are comparable between conventional (CV) and Nat-GF mice. In this report, we compared the properties of IEL in Nat-GF mice and GF mice fed antigen-minimized diet (AgM-GF mice) of C57BL/6 strain to evaluate an influence of gut antigenic load on IEL development. Numbers of alpha beta-IEL and gamma delta-IEL in AgM-GF mice were less by 1.9- and 1.4-fold than those in Nat-GF mice, respectively. Significant decreases in the proportions of CD4+8-, CD4-8 alpha beta +, and CD4+8+ subsets and a resultant increase in the ratio of CD4-8 alpha alpha + subset were evident in alpha beta-IEL of Nat-GF mice compared with CV mice, but the subset constitution of alpha beta-IEL was similar between Nat-GF and AgM-GF mice. In contrast, relative composition of gamma delta-IEL was not different between CV, Nat-GF, and AgM-GF mice. alpha beta-IEL displayed low cytolytic activity in Nat-GF mice and were almost deprived of their cytotoxicity under the antigen-minimized condition. While gamma delta-IEL were strongly cytolytic in Nat-GF mice their cytolytic activity was remarkably reduced in AgM-GF mice. These results indicate that gamma delta-IEL are activated independently of microbial colonization in the gastrointestinal tract but their activation occurs in response to the exogenous antigenic substances other than live micro-organisms.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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