Lees R K, Ferrero I, MacDonald H R
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Lausanne Branch, University of Lausanne, CH-1066 Epalinges, Switzerland.
Eur J Immunol. 2001 Oct;31(10):2901-9. doi: 10.1002/1521-4141(2001010)31:10<2901::aid-immu2901>3.0.co;2-#.
Whereas the majority of NKT cells in the mouse express an alpha beta TCR (NKTalpha beta cells), a small subset of NKT cells express a gamma delta TCR (NKTgamma delta). Here we have systematically analyzed the phenotype, TCR repertoire and activation status of NKTgamma delta cells in the thymus, liver, spleen and bone marrow of normal C57BL/6 mice. Our data indicate that NKTgamma delta cells segregate in a tissue-specific manner according to these parameters. While most NKTgamma delta cells in the thymus and liver have a recently activated CD62L(lo) phenotype and a TCR repertoire that is heavily biased to Vgamma1.1 and Vdelta6.3, the majority of NKTgamma delta cells in the spleen and bone marrow are CD62L(hi) and have a much less biased TCR repertoire. Moreover, expression of NK markers is high on NKTgamma delta cells in spleen and bone marrow but low in thymus and liver. Collectively our results reveal a tissue-specific segregation of NKTgamma delta cells that is strikingly similar to that recently described for CD1d-dependent and Cd1d-independent NKTalpha beta cells. We therefore propose that chronic TCR activation by tissue-specific endogenous ligands is a generic property of NKT cells of both the alpha beta and gamma delta lineages.
虽然小鼠中的大多数NKT细胞表达αβTCR(NKTαβ细胞),但一小部分NKT细胞表达γδTCR(NKTγδ)。在这里,我们系统地分析了正常C57BL/6小鼠胸腺、肝脏、脾脏和骨髓中NKTγδ细胞的表型、TCR库和激活状态。我们的数据表明,NKTγδ细胞根据这些参数以组织特异性方式分离。虽然胸腺和肝脏中的大多数NKTγδ细胞具有最近激活的CD62L(lo)表型和严重偏向Vγ1.1和Vδ6.3的TCR库,但脾脏和骨髓中的大多数NKTγδ细胞是CD62L(hi),并且TCR库的偏向性要小得多。此外,NK标志物在脾脏和骨髓中的NKTγδ细胞上表达高,但在胸腺和肝脏中表达低。我们的结果共同揭示了NKTγδ细胞的组织特异性分离,这与最近描述的CD1d依赖性和CD1d非依赖性NKTαβ细胞的分离惊人地相似。因此,我们提出组织特异性内源性配体引起的慢性TCR激活是αβ和γδ谱系NKT细胞的共同特性。