Intermediate TCR cells can induce graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.
Mice fall victim to GVHD when subjected to immunosuppressive treatment and injected with allogeneic bone marrow cells. A major population of cells associated with GVHD is known to be T cells. However, whether such T cells are of thymic or extrathymic origin is obscure. We applied two immunosuppressive conditions, 9 and 6.5 Gy irradiation, to C3H/He mice (H-2k). Bone marrow cells for injection were obtained from C57BL/6 (B6) mice (H-2b). The 9-Gy mice were reconstituted by lymphocytes of donor origin and showed GVHD, whereas 6.5-Gy mice were reconstituted by lymphocytes of recipient origin and showed mild GVHD. The liver was the organ where the reconstitution of lymphocytes occurred efficiently, and a major lymphocyte subset was intermediate (int) CD3 cells (i.e., CD3int cells) in both mice. CD3int cells had the properties of extrathymic T cells, showing the phenotype of NK1.1 + CD3int using invariant V alpha 14 chain. In 6.5-Gy mice, allogeneic cells were rejected by extrathymic T cells of recipient origin. The stored CD3int cells from the liver of 9-Gy mice evoked similar GVHD when transferred into 6.5-Gy irradiated C3H/He mice. These results suggest that CD3int cells of extrathymic origin are a major population for the induction of GVHD under immunosuppressive conditions.
Weerasinghe
A
A
Department of Immunology, Niigata University School of Medicine, Japan.
Kawamura
T
T
Moroda
T
T
Seki
S
S
Watanabe
H
H
Abo
T
T
D019264:Adoptive Transfer; D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000276:immunology; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000032:analysis; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000276:immunology; D002469:Cell Separation; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005720:Gamma Rays; D015332:Gene Rearrangement, alpha-Chain T-Cell Antigen Receptor; D015333:Gene Rearrangement, beta-Chain T-Cell Antigen Receptor; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology / Q000637:transplantation; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011828:Radiation Chimera; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000032:analysis*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
D017252:CD3 Complex; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell