T Cell Receptor Specificity Is Critical for the Development of Epidermal γδ T Cells
Open Access
- 19 November 2001
- journal article
- Published by Rockefeller University Press in The Journal of Experimental Medicine
- Vol. 194 (10), 1473-1483
- https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.194.10.1473
Abstract
A particular feature of γδ T cell biology is that cells expressing T cell receptor (TCR) using specific Vγ/Vδ segments are localized in distinct epithelial sites, e.g., in mouse epidermis nearly all γδ T cells express Vγ3/Vδ1. These cells, referred to as dendritic epidermal T cells (DETC) originate from fetal Vγ3+ thymocytes. The role of γδ TCR specificity in DETC's migration/localization to the skin has remained controversial. To address this issue we have generated transgenic (Tg) mice expressing a TCR δ chain (Vδ6.3-Dδ1-Dδ2-Jδ1-Cδ), which can pair with Vγ3 in fetal thymocytes but is not normally expressed by DETC. In wild-type (wt) Vδ6.3Tg mice DETC were present and virtually all of them express Vδ6.3. However, DETC were absent in TCR-δ−/− Vδ6.3Tg mice, despite the fact that Vδ6.3Tg γδ T cells were present in normal numbers in other lymphoid and nonlymphoid tissues. In wt Vδ6.3Tg mice, a high proportion of in-frame Vδ1 transcripts were found in DETC, suggesting that the expression of an endogenous TCR-δ (most probably Vδ1) was required for the development of Vδ6.3+ epidermal γδ T cells. Collectively our data demonstrate that TCR specificity is essential for the development of γδ T cells in the epidermis. Moreover, they show that the TCR-δ locus is not allelically excluded.Keywords
This publication has 42 references indexed in Scilit:
- T cell fate specification and αβ/γδ lineage commitmentCurrent Opinion in Immunology, 2001
- Enterocyte Expression of Interleukin 7 Induces Development of γδ T Cells and Peyer's PatchesThe Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2000
- Assembly of Productive T Cell Receptor δ Variable Region Genes Exhibits Allelic InclusionThe Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1998
- Sialyl Lewisx Expression on Human Langerhans CellsJournal of Investigative Dermatology, 1993
- T cell receptor δ gene mutant mice: Independent generation of αβ T cells and programmed rearrangements of γδ TCR genesCell, 1993
- Restricted diversity of Vγ9‐JP rearrangements in unstimulated human γ/δ T lymphocytesEuropean Journal of Immunology, 1992
- The Immunobiology of T Cells with Invariant gammadelta Antigen ReceptorsAnnual Review of Immunology, 1991
- Loss of epidermal integrity by T cell-mediated attack induces long-term local resistance to subsequent attack. I. Induction of resistance correlates with increases in Thy-1+ epidermal cell numbers.The Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1990
- Origin of Thy-1+ dendritic epidermal cells of adult mice from fetal thymic precursorsNature, 1990
- Specificity and function of T cells bearing γδ receptorsImmunology Today, 1988