T Cell Receptor Is Required for Differentiation, but Not Maintenance, of Intestinal CD4⁺ Intraepithelial Lymphocytes.

ABSTRACT: The gut epithelium is populated by intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs), a heterogeneous T cell population with cytotoxic and regulatory properties, which can be acquired at the epithelial layer. However, the role of T cell receptor (TCR) in this process remains unclear. Single-cell transcriptomic analyses revealed distinct clonal expansions between cell states, with CD4⁺CD8αα⁺ IELs being one of the least diverse populations. Conditional deletion of TCR on differentiating CD4⁺ T cells or of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II on intestinal epithelial cells prevented CD4⁺CD8αα⁺ IEL differentiation. However, TCR ablation on differentiated CD4⁺CD8αα⁺ IELs or long-term cognate antigen withdraw did not affect

SUBMITTER: Bilate AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7677182 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature