HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Golden-Mason, L. Articles by O’Farrelly, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Golden-Mason, L. Articles by O’Farrelly, C.

Adult Human Liver Contains CD8^pos T Cells with Naive Phenotype, but Is Not a Site for Conventional T Cell Development¹

Lucy Golden-Mason^2,*,, Daniel C. Douek^¶, Richard A. Koup^||, Jacinta Kelly, John E. Hegarty^3,, and Cliona O’Farrelly^3,*,

^* Education and Research Center and National Liver Transplant Unit, St. Vincent’s University Hospital, Dublin Institute of Technology, and Conway Institute, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; and ^¶ Human Immunology Section and ^|| Immunology Laboratory, Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892

Normal adult human liver (AHL) contains populations of unconventional lymphocytes that have been shown in the mouse to mature locally. The presence of lymphoid progenitors together with IL-7, recombinase-activating gene, and pre-TCR- expression in AHL suggests similar local T cell development activity in humans. Flow cytometry was used to characterize potentially naive hepatic -T cells. We looked for evidence of TCR- cell development in AHL by quantifying deletion TCR excision circles (TRECs) in CD3^pos populations isolated from the liver and matched blood of eight individuals. Phenotypic analysis of hepatic T cells suggests the presence of Ag-inexperienced populations. TRECs were detected in all blood samples (mean, 164.10 TRECs/µg DNA), whereas only two hepatic samples were positive at low levels (59.40 and 1.92). The relatively high level of CD8^pos T cells in these livers with a naive phenotype suggests that in addition to its role as a graveyard for Ag-specific activated CD8^pos T cells, naive CD8^pos T cells may enter the liver without prior activation. The almost complete absence of TRECs suggests that normal AHL is not a site for the development of conventional T cells.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A. M. Williams, P. W. Bland, A. C. Phillips, S. Turner, T. Brooklyn, G. Shaya, R. D. Spicer, and C. S. J. Probert Intestinal {alpha}{beta} T Cells Differentiate and Rearrange Antigen Receptor Genes In Situ in the Human Infant J. Immunol., December 15, 2004; 173(12): 7190 - 7199. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]