title: Cross-talk between intraepithelial γδ T cells and epithelial cells.
abstract: Intraepithelial γδ T cells play pivotal roles in homeostasis, tissue repair, inflammation, and protection from malignancy. In some tissues, γδ T cells are the only resident T cell population, whereas in others, they coexist with αβ T cells and other lymphocyte populations. γδ T cell function in the epithelium requires constant communication between cells in the form of cell-to-cell contacts and cell-to-matrix interactions. These interactions coordinate with the timely production of specific cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, and glycosaminoglycans, which have specialized effects on neighboring epithelial cells. Antigens that activate these T cells are not well-defined, and they do not express classic costimulatory or coreceptor molecules. As such, an understanding of the mechanisms used by epithelial γδ T cells to maintain homeostasis and facilitate wound repair has necessitated the identification of novel molecular interactions between γδ T cells and their neighboring epithelial cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Witherden
authors.forename: Wendy L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Havran
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000276:immunology*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016692:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, gamma-delta
keywords: dendritic epidermal T cells; epithelium; lymphocytes; wound repair