Activation features of intraepithelial γδ T-cells of the murine vagina

Abstract

The epithelium of the murine vagina contains a resident population of γδ T-cells that expresses a homogenous V-4.Vδ1 TCR lacking N-region junctional diversity, implying that these T-cells recognize a very limited array of antigenic structures. The vaginal γδ T-cells express a pattern of surface markers characteristic of memory/effector T-cells that have previously been activated. Although vaginal γδ T-cells do not express the major costimulatory molecules CD28 and CD2, they do proliferate in response to a systemically delivered anti γδ TCR stimulus. Vaginal γδ T-cells contain mRNA that encodes the keratinocyte growth factor raising the possibility that these cells play a role in the repair of vaginal epithelium following injury. While the antigen recognized by the vaginal γδ TCR is unknown, a model is proposed which attempts to relate some of the unusual phenotypic features of vaginal γδ T-cells to the physiological injury and shedding of vaginal epithelium that occurs during the estrous cycle.