title: [Presence of thymus-dependent CD4+8+ intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes and their characteristics in mice].
abstract: The purpose of this study was the investigation of the T cell subsets in the gut-associated lymphoid tissues. CD4+8+ T cells were found to appear temporarily in Peyer's patches of mice at 2 to 3 weeks after birth. They disappeared within a short period of time from Peyer's patches, but constantly populated in the intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (iIEL). Three to 10% of iIEL were CD4+8+ in the specific pathogen-free (SPF) condition throughout life. They are mature T cells with a high density of CD3 and TcR alpha beta and found to respond to immobilized anti-CD3 antibody. The appearance of CD4+8+ T cells in iIEL was found to be dependent on the thymic selection, since they were absent in the athymic nu/nu mice, and the V beta gene usage was dictated by the pattern of thymic selection. CD4+8+ T cells were not found in the germ-free mice but increased in the SPF old mice. These results indicate that the iIEL contain a unique subset of thymus-derived mature CD4+8+ T cells. These cells may repopulate after the thymic selection in the intestine and increase in response to the intestinal microenvironments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, Tokyo Medical and Dental University.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagasawa
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D005856:Germ-Free Life; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000166:cytology*; D051379:Mice; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens