The primary site of CD4- 8- B220+ alphabeta T cells in lpr mice: the appendix in normal mice.
There have been no reports on an abundance of CD4- 8- B220+ alphabeta T cells, seen in autoimmune mice carrying the lpr gene (abnormal Fas gene), in any immune organs of normal mice. We herein report, however, that such alphabeta T cells were abundant at intraepithelial sites of the appendix in normal mice. They lacked the expression of NK1.1 Ags (C57BL/6 mice), but had the morphology of granular lymphocytes and contained forbidden T cell clones in the minor lymphocyte-stimulating antigen (Mls) system (C3H/He mice with Mls-1b2a). In other words, many properties of intraepithelial T cells in the appendix resembled those ascribed to abnormal alphabeta T cells, which expand in the lymph nodes and spleen of lpr mice. In the case of lpr mice, CD4- 8- B220+ alphabeta T cells first expanded in the appendix and then extended to other organs. CD4- 8- B220+ alphabeta T cells seemed to originate in situ from c-kit+ stem cells in the appendix. These results suggest that the appendix is one of the primary sites in which CD4- 8- B220+ alphabeta T cells exist, and that these cells carry many primordial properties as prototype T cells.
Yamagiwa
S
S
Department of Immunology, Niigata University School of Medicine, Japan.
Sugahara
S
S
Shimizu
T
T
Iwanaga
T
T
Yoshida
Y
Y
Honda
S
S
Watanabe
H
H
Suzuki
K
K
Asakura
H
H
Abo
T
T
D000818:Animals; D001065:Appendix / Q000276:immunology*; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens / Q000032:analysis*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D019463:Mice, Inbred MRL lpr / Q000276:immunology*; D008819:Mice, Nude; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit / Q000032:analysis; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000032:analysis*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000502:physiology*
D015704:CD4 Antigens; D016827:CD8 Antigens; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D019009:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens