PHENOTYPIC AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF HUMAN MONOCLONAL TCR GAMMA DELTA T-CELL LINES FROM JEJUNUM AND COLON OF HEALTHY-INDIVIDUALS/

We have performed a phenotypic and molecular analysis of monoclonal TC Rgamma/delta T-cell lines derived from jejunal and colonic biopsies of healthy individuals. Flow cytometric analysis employing a panel of 24 monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) demonstrated that intestinal TCRgamma/d elta intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) constitute a phenotypically het erogeneous population. Nucleotide sequence analysis of expressed TCRde lta variable (V) regions revealed the dominant utilization of the Vdel ta2 and Ddelta3 gene segments and frequent rearrangement of Jdelta3. I EL Vdelta regions displayed extensive junctional diversity as a result of N and P insertion and the utilization of Ddelta3 in all three read ing frames. The results demonstrate that intestinal TCRgamma/delta T c ells from healthy individuals constitute a phenotypically heterogeneou s population expressing Vdelta regions that differ from their systemic counterparts.