Strain and age-related changes in the localization of intestinal CD161+ natural killer cells and CD8+ intraepithelial lymphocytes along the longitudinal crypt axis in inbred rats.

Using a cell position approach, this study indicates that the frequency of CD161(+) natural killer (NK) cells in the epithelia of DA rats was greater than that of WKAH and F344 rats. We further divided the epithelia into proliferating and differentiated regions according to the localization of BrdU-incorporated cells. Comparison between the different regions indicates that a majority of CD161(+) NK cells were located in the proliferating region. With age, a decline in the number of CD161(+) NK cells and CD8(+) intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) was observed in the distal colon, especially in the proliferating region of all three strains. Taken together with our previous report that DA rats have far stronger resistance in the colon to preneoplastic lesion than do other strains, these results indicate that CD161(+) NK cells play an important role in immune-surveillance at the bottom of the crypt.