title: T cell receptor V beta expression in human intestine: regional variation in postnatal intestine and biased usage in fetal gut.
abstract: A panel of T cell receptor V beta specific monoclonal antibodies was used to analyse V beta gene usage at different sites in human postnatal and fetal intestine. In normal small intestine, at a single site, different patients showed expansion of T cells expressing individual V beta s. Lamina propria and epithelial T cells from the same patient showed overlapping but not identical V beta dominance. V beta dominance was also shown in the T cells of the colonic lamina propria. Analysis of two separate regions of intestine from the same patient (5-100 cm apart) showed that T cells expressing a dominant V beta region were often present at both sites. In most patients, however, major biases in T cell V beta usage (two to 12-fold variation) were also apparent between the two sites. Analysis of V beta expression in human fetal intestine also showed considerable skewing, although the most common dominant V beta in postnatal intestine (V beta 22) was never predominant in fetal intestine. Patchy local variation in the expression of individual V beta s therefore occurs against a background of V beta dominance over large regions of the human gut. Furthermore the results from fetal gut show that factors other than luminal antigen control V beta expression in the gut.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital, London.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schürmann
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lionetti
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Pender
authors.forename: T T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: MacDonald
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell