Differential localization of Th1 and Th2 cells in autoimmune gastritis

T Katakai
1998 International Immunology  
The vast majority of CD4 ⍣ T cells infiltrating into gastric mucosa (GM) and in the draining (gastric) lymph node (GLN) shows an activated/memory phenotype, CD45RB low L-selectin low CD44 high , in neonataly thymectomized BALB/c mice bearing autoimmune gastritis (AIG), indicating that these cells are actively involved in this disease. CD4 ⍣ T cells sort-purified from GLN expressed mRNAs encoding for both IFN-γ and IL-4. However, those infiltrating into GM expressed very low levels of IL-4 mRNA,
more » ... even though they strongly expressed IFN-γ mRNA. Among CD4 ⍣ T cells separated from AIG mice expressing detectable levels of either IFN-γ or IL-4 by intracellular staining, less than oneseventh expressed IL-4 and thus most of them expressed IFN-γ in GM, whereas roughly half and one-third expressed IL-4 in GLN and spleen respectively. These findings indicate that the T h 1 cells predominantly infiltrate into autoimmune lesions and T h 2 cells are mainly resident in the regional LN. We further set up an in vitro model system of transendothelial migration using a murine endothelial cell line, F-2, and found that T h 1 cells in CD4 ⍣ T cells separated from lymphoid tissues of AIG mice preferentially passed through the monolayer of endothelial cells while only a small portion of T h 2 cells did so. This differing ability of transendothelial migration and localization might explain the dominance of T h 1 cells destroying the tissue in focal lesions without inhibition by the T h 2 cells, in spite of both subsets being simultaneously activated in AIG mice , and the functions of each T cell subset seems to be mutually exclusive.
doi:10.1093/intimm/10.9.1325 pmid:9786432 fatcat:5kyz7go4unaidp3on64ohveaza