Abstract
The vast majority of mature T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood and lymphoid organs use the CD3-associated α,βT-cell receptor (TCR) heterodimer for antigen recognition1–3. A second class of TCRs consists of disiilphide-linked γ and δ proteins that are also CD3-associated4–7. A subset of early CD3+ fetal and adult CD4− 8− thymocytes express γ,δ TCRs before α, β TCRs are detectable7–10. In addition, a minor (1–5%) subpopulation of peripheral T lymphocytes4,11,12, and some spleen cells from nude mice13 express γ,δ TCRs. Notably, dendritic epidermal cells have also been shown to express γ,δ TCRs14,15. All of these populations lack CD4 and CDS molecules. We now report that most mature T cells residing in the murine intestinal epithelium express CD3-associated TCRs composed of γ-chains distilphide-linked to a protein resembling the δ-chain. The striking feature of these intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) was that they were exclusively CD4−8+. In addition, approximately half of CD3-bearing IEL lacked detectable Thy-1 on the cell surface, which is unprecedented for murine T cells. In contrast to other CD8+ peripheral T cells, freshly isolated IEL could be induced to display cytolytic activity by engaging the CD3 molecule, indicating that activation had occurred in vivo. Thus, CD8+ IEL are a phenotypically diverse and anatomically restricted population of lymphocytes that use γ-chain containing heterodimers for antigen recognition.
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Goodman, ., Lefrançois, L. Expression of the γ-δ T-cell receptor on intestinal CD8+ intraepithelial lymphocytes. Nature 333, 855–858 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/333855a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/333855a0
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