T lymphocytes in human gut epithelium preferentially express the alpha/beta antigen receptor and are often CD45/UCHL1-positive.
A revived interest in intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) has been elicited by several recent reports suggesting that murine and avian intestinal epithelium contains mainly CD3+CD8+ cells expressing the gamma/delta T-cell receptor (TcR) for antigen; this contrasts with systemically distributed T cells which preferentially employ the TcR alpha/beta. An anatomical dichotomy in the distribution of these two T-cell lineages has hence been proposed. Here we report that this concept does not hold true in man. In situ studies with monoclonal TcR-framework antibodies showed that most (70-90%) human intestinal IEL (which are mainly CD3+CD8+) expressed TcR alpha/beta. Moreover, almost half of the intraepithelial CD3+ cells were positive for the smallest (180 kDa) CD45 molecule (UCHL1); this probably reflected that they are antigen-primed and thus represent traditional CD3+CD8+ alpha/beta+ memory T cells.
Brandtzaeg
P
P
Laboratory for Immunohistochemistry and Immunopathology (LIIPAT), University of Oslo, Norway.
Bosnes
V
V
Halstensen
T S
TS
Scott
H
H
Sollid
L M
LM
Valnes
K N
KN
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D002460:Cell Line; D004848:Epithelium; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D007583:Jejunum / Q000276:immunology*; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000276:immunology*; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta