Findly R C, Roberts S J, Hayday A C
Central Research Division, Pfizer Inc., Groton, CT.
Eur J Immunol. 1993 Oct;23(10):2557-64. doi: 10.1002/eji.1830231027.
The response of murine intraepithelial lymphocyte (IEL) populations to challenge by Eimeria vermiformis, a naturally occurring protozoan parasite of the gut epithelium, has been studied. The number of recoverable IEL increased within 3 days post infection, was depleted by day 7 post infection, but was significantly increased again by about day 14 post infection. Special attention was paid to gamma delta+ IEL T cells, because they are of unknown functions. These cells showed changes in numbers similar to the total IEL population. Moreover, by day 3, increased expression was detected among gamma delta+ IEL T cells, of T cell receptor genes not constitutively associated with the intestine. These results demonstrate that the IEL repertoire, and within that, the gamma delta+ T cell repertoire, can be extremely dynamic post infection with a naturally occurring epithelial-tropic pathogen. In considering the potential benefits of such IEL changes, we hypothesize that they may be relevant to the transient protection of the host's epithelium, both from parasitic re-infection, and from potentially damaging inflammation.
对小鼠上皮内淋巴细胞（IEL）群体对肠道上皮自然存在的原生动物寄生虫——蠕形艾美耳球虫感染的反应进行了研究。可恢复的IEL数量在感染后3天内增加，在感染后第7天减少，但在感染后约第14天再次显著增加。特别关注了γδ+ IEL T细胞，因为它们的功能尚不清楚。这些细胞的数量变化与总IEL群体相似。此外，到第3天，在γδ+ IEL T细胞中检测到与肠道无组成性关联的T细胞受体基因表达增加。这些结果表明，IEL库，以及其中的γδ+ T细胞库，在感染自然发生的嗜上皮病原体后可能极具动态性。在考虑这种IEL变化的潜在益处时，我们假设它们可能与宿主上皮的短暂保护有关，既可以防止寄生虫再次感染，也可以防止潜在的破坏性炎症。
