Commensal bacteria maintain a Qa-1^b-restricted unconventional CD8⁺ T population in gut epithelium.

ABSTRACT: Intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) are characterized by an unusual phenotype and developmental pathway, yet their specific ligands and functions remain largely unknown. Here by analysis of QFL T cells, a population of CD8⁺ T cells critical for monitoring the MHC I antigen processing pathway, we established that unconventional Qa-1^b-restricted CD8⁺ T cells are abundant in intestinal epithelium. We found that QFL T cells showed a Qa-1^b-dependent unconventional phenotype in the spleen and small intestine of naïve wild-type mice. The splenic QFL T cells showed innate-like functionality exemplified by rapid response to cytokines or antigens, while the gut population was refractory to stimuli. Microbiota was required for the maintenance, but

SUBMITTER: Guan J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10735220 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature