Generation of Intestinal T Cells from Progenitors Residing in Gut Cryptopatches
Hisashi Saito,
Yutaka Kanamori,
Toshitada Takemori,
Hideo Nariuchi,
Eiro Kubota,
Hiromi Takahashi-Iwanaga,
Toshihiko Iwanaga,
Hiromichi Ishikawa
*
Cryptopatches (CPs) are part of the murine intestinal immune
compartment. Cells isolated from CPs of the small intestine that were
c-kit positive (c-kit+) but lineage markers negative
(Lin
) gave rise to T cell receptor (TCR) 
and TCR 
intestinal intraepithelial T cells after in vivo
transfer or tissue engraftment into severe combined immunodeficient
mice. In contrast, cells from Peyer's patches and mesenteric lymph
nodes, which belong in the same intestinal immune compartment but lack
c-kit+Lin cells, failed to do so. These
findings and results of electron microscopic analysis provide evidence
of a local intestinal T cell precursor that develops in the CPs.
H. Saito, Y. Kanamori, H. Ishikawa, Department of Microbiology,
Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo 160, Japan.
T. Takemori, Department of Immunology, National Institute of Infectious
Diseases, Tokyo 162, Japan.
H. Nariuchi, Department of Allergology, Institute of Medical Science,
University of Tokyo, Tokyo 108, Japan.
E. Kubota, Second Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery,
Kanagawa Dental College, Kanagawa 238, Japan.
H. Takahashi-Iwanaga, Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine,
Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060, Japan.
T. Iwanaga, Laboratory of Anatomy, Graduate School of Veterinary
Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060, Japan.
*
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
ishikawa{at}sun.microb.med.keio.ac.jp
