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Induction of Intestinal Lymphoid Tissue
Author(s) -
LÜGERING ANDREAS,
KUCHARZIK TORSTEN
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1196/annals.1326.015
Subject(s) - intraepithelial lymphocyte , c c chemokine receptor type 6 , biology , lamina propria , lymphatic system , immunology , immune system , lymphocyte , cxcl13 , ccl20 , microbiology and biotechnology , mesenteric lymph nodes , chemokine , gut associated lymphoid tissue , chemokine receptor , epithelium , genetics
The intestinal immune system includes several organized structures, such as Peyer's patches, isolated lymphoid follicles (ILFs), cryptopatches (CPs) as well as mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) that constitute an extensive network with other nonorganized parts, such as intraepithelial and lamina propria lymphocytes. CPs are small clusters of lymphoid cells with an immature lymphocyte phenotype and dendritic cells. Initial observations in transfer experiments suggested that the immature lymphocytes are T cell precursors and CPs are a potential site of extrathymic intraepithelial lymphocyte (IEL) differentiation. This feature has recently been challenged particularly by the observation that CP cells express the orphan receptor RORγt and are phenotypically indistinguishable from lymphoid tissue‐inducer (LTi) cells, suggesting that CP cells are the adult counterpart of fetal LTi cells. In addition, the chemokine receptor CCR6 is specifically expressed by precursor cells within CPs and its deletion inhibits the development of ILFs. Therefore, it is likely that ILFs derive from CPs under the control of CCR6 under inflammatory conditions and might constitute a valuable target for anti‐inflammatory therapies.