Resident CD4+αβT cells of the murine female genital tract: a phenotypically distinct T cell lineage that rapidly proliferates in response to systemic T cell activation stimuli

摘要

A population of CD4+cells has been identified in the murine female genital tract (FGT). Phenotypic studies of FGT CD4+cells demonstrate that they express CD3 and that the majority of these cells areαβTCR+Thy-1+. Most of the Thy-1+CD4+αβTCR+cells resemble memory T cells based on their expression of CD44, L-selectin and CD45RB antigens. The vast majority of Thy-1+CD4+αβTCR+FGT cells are CD5+and all of them are B220−. Systemic stimuli including infection withTrypanosoma brucel brucel, injection with anti-CD3ε, or bacterial superantigens staphylococcal enterotoxin A or B cause a rapid accumulation of CD4+cells in the FGT exceeding that observed for CD4+cells in spleen and lymph nodes (LN). Expansion of the FGT CD4+cells, which are phenotypically distinct from the splenic and LN CD4+T cells, is due to local proliferation rather than an influx of cells from the circulation. The CD4+population in the FGT of adultnu/numice is dramatically reduced, indicating its thymic dependency. Inlpr/lprmice, FGT CD4 cells do not display changes characteristic of splenic or LN CD4 cells in the same animals. These findings demonstrate that the CD4+cells of the murine FGT are thymic dependent, but that they constitute a T cell lineage that phenotypically and, probably functionally, is distinct from other peripheral CD4+T cell pop