Goat γδ T cell subpopulations defined by WC1 expression, responses to pathogens and cytokine production.

The major functions of γδ T cells in mammals overlap with those of αβ T cells but differ in that γδ T cells are rapid responders and see different types of antigens. While γδ T cells have been shown to be a major population of circulating lymphocytes in artiodactyl species such as cattle, sheep, and pigs, less is known about these cells in goats, an important agricultural species. We have recently shown that WC1, a γδ T cell-specific family of hybrid pattern recognition receptors/co-receptors, is a multigenic family in goats expanded beyond what occurs in cattle. This study was conducted to address some of the limitations of previous studies in determining the proportions of γδ T cells, WC1 γδ T cells as well as the WC1.1 and WC1.2 subpopulations in blood and to evaluate their responses to various pathogens. Previously, the proportion of caprine γδ T cells was determined using a monoclonal antibody (mAb) 86D that we show here does not react with all γδ T cells thereby underestimating their contribution to the lymphocyte population. Using a mAb reactive with the TCRδ constant region we found the proportion of γδ T cells in blood was not significantly less than that of either CD4 or CD8 T cells and did not decrease with age after 6 months. γδ T cells that expressed WC1 ranged from ~20 to 85% of the total γδ T cells. Less than half of those were classified as WC1.1 or WC1.2 by mAb staining thus indicating a third major WC1 population. We found that naïve γδ T cells proliferated in cultures of PBMC stimulated with antigens of Leptospira or Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP) more than they did in control medium cultures or in those stimulated with M. bovis BCG antigens and that the responding γδ T cells included both WC1 and WC1 cells. In ex vivo PMA/ionomycin-stimulated cultures of WC1 γδ T cells but not WC1 cells produced both IL-17 and IFNγ. In longterm cultures with Leptospira or MAP both WC1 and WC1 cells proliferated but only WC1 γδ T cells produced IL-17. In conclusion, goats have a substantial number of WC1 and WC1 γδ T cells in PBMC that do not decrease with animal age after 6 months; both populations respond to bacterial antigens as naïve cells but in these cultures only the WC1 γδ cells produc IL-17 and IFNγ .