Selective activation of extrathymic T cells in the liver by glycyrrhizin.
Extrathymic pathways for T cell differentiation were recently demonstrated in the liver, intestine and omentum. In this study, glycyrrhizin (GL), a plant extract was investigated as to its effect on extrathymic T cells in the liver of mice. A new method using anti-LFA-1 mAb in conjunction with anti-TCR or -CD3 mAbs to sensitively identify such extrathymic T cells is included. Single injection and repeated injections of GL increased not only the number of total hepatic MNC but also the proportion of intermediate TCR cells, which are extrathymic T cells uniquely seen in the liver. In contrast to other tested reagents (e.g., lymphotoxin and estrogen) that activated the extrathymic T cells and simultaneously induced profound thymic atrophy, GL did not affect regular T cells in the thymus. The present results suggest that the selective activation of extrathymic T cells in the liver might be intimately related to the clinical effects of GL.
Kimura
M
M
Department of Immunology, Niigata University School of Medicine, Japan.
Watanabe
H
H
Abo
T
T
D000818:Animals; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006034:Glycyrrhetinic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000187:drug effects; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects*; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000032:analysis; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology
D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D019695:Glycyrrhizic Acid; D006034:Glycyrrhetinic Acid