Adhesion between epithelial cells and T lymphocytes mediated by E-cadherin and the alpha E beta 7 integrin.
In contrast to sessile cell types, lymphocytes migrate through the vasculature to become diffusely distributed in tissues or organized in lymphoid structures. A complex array of adhesion molecules including selectins, integrins and their counter-receptors mediate lymphocyte homing and migration into tissues and may be constitutively expressed or induced. However, the molecules that mediate the tissue-specific retention of lymphocytes within the parenchyma have not been identified. Along the epithelium at the basolateral surface of enterocytes, intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes are found. These T cells of the mucosal immune system serve as a model for the tissue-specific compartmentalization of lymphocytes. We investigated whether the localization of these intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes could be mediated by specific interactions between adhesion molecules expressed selectively on this subpopulation of T cells and tissue-restricted adhesion molecules on epithelial cells. Here we show that heterotypic adhesive interactions between epithelial cells and intraepithelial lymphocytes in vitro are mediated by E-cadherin and the alpha E beta 7 integrin.
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115.
K L
KL
Cepek
S K
SK
Shaw
C M
CM
Parker
G J
GJ
Russell
J S
JS
Morrow
D L
DL
Rimm
M B
MB
Brenner
D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000502:physiology*; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D002460:Cell Line; D006801:Humans; D016023:Integrins / Q000502:physiology*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology*; D007739:L Cells; D051379:Mice; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*
D015820:Cadherins; D016023:Integrins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C071777:integrin alpha4beta7; C070709:integrin alphaEbeta7