Soukiasian S H, Rice B, Foster C S, Lee S J
Immunology Service, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Boston 02114.
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1992 Feb;33(2):453-9.
The majority of human peripheral blood and lymphoid tissue T cells express the TCR alpha/beta heterodimer, while the TCR gamma/delta is expressed on only a small subset of T lymphocytes. However, the majority of murine intraepithelial lymphocytes and most Thy-1+ murine dendritic epidermal cells express the TCR gamma/delta. Selective homing of avian TCR gamma/delta bearing lymphocytes to the intestinal epithelium also has been shown. These findings have suggested that these cells play a role against transformation and infection. More recently, a role in autoimmunity also has been proposed. We examined normal human conjunctiva and inflamed conjunctiva from patients with ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP), an autoimmune disorder, and atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC). The majority of T cells in the epithelium and substantia propria of normal conjunctiva expressed the TCR alpha/beta. Tropism of TCR gamma/delta-expressing lymphocytes to normal human conjunctiva was not present. However, in OCP, there was a statistically significant increase in the absolute number of TCR gamma/delta cells/mm2 (epithelium, 33.9 +/- 10.5 [mean +/- standard error of the mean] vs. 159.9 +/- 51.5, P = less than 0.0008; substantia propria, 4.1 +/- 0.9 vs. 240.1 +/- 191.3, P less than 0.002) and TCR gamma/delta cells as a percentage of CD3+ cells (epithelium, 0.18 +/- 0.06 vs. 0.39 +/- 0.07, P = less than 0.02; substantia propria, 0.10 +/- 0.05 vs 0.33 +/- 0.08, P = less than 0.03). This was not the case for AKC. These findings suggest that TCR gamma/delta lymphocytes play a specific but undefined role in certain conjunctival inflammatory conditions and may be important in autoimmunity.
大多数人外周血和淋巴组织中的T细胞表达TCRα/β异二聚体，而TCRγ/δ仅在一小部分T淋巴细胞上表达。然而，大多数鼠上皮内淋巴细胞和大多数Thy-1+鼠树突状表皮细胞表达TCRγ/δ。也已显示携带禽TCRγ/δ的淋巴细胞可选择性归巢至肠道上皮。这些发现表明这些细胞在抵抗转化和感染中发挥作用。最近，也有人提出其在自身免疫中起作用。我们检查了正常人类结膜以及患有眼部瘢痕性类天疱疮（OCP，一种自身免疫性疾病）和特应性角结膜炎（AKC）患者的炎症性结膜。正常结膜上皮和固有层中的大多数T细胞表达TCRα/β。表达TCRγ/δ的淋巴细胞不存在向正常人类结膜的嗜性。然而，在OCP中，每平方毫米TCRγ/δ细胞的绝对数量有统计学显著增加（上皮，33.9±10.5[平均值±平均值的标准误差]对159.9±51.5，P＜0.0008；固有层，4.1±0.9对240.1±191.3，P＜0.002），且TCRγ/δ细胞占CD3+细胞的百分比也增加（上皮，0.18±0.06对0.39±0.07，P＜0.02；固有层，0.10±0.05对0.33±0.08，P＜0.03）。AKC的情况并非如此。这些发现表明TCRγ/δ淋巴细胞在某些结膜炎症状态中起特定但未明确的作用，并且可能在自身免疫中很重要。
