Antigen-Driven Clonal Accumulation of Peritoneal γδ T Cells in vivo

Abstract

How the clonality of γδ T cells changes in response to exogenous antigens is uncertain. Here we analyzed kinetics of Vγ1.1 and Vγ2 T cell clonality after intraperitoneal injection of purified protein derivatives (PPD) by the heterogeneity of the third complementarity determining region (CDR3) length in Vγ1.1-Jγ4-Cγ4 and Vγ2-Jγ1-Cγ1 junctions. The V-J junctions were analyzed in intrahepatic lymphocytes (IHL), spleen cells, and peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. γδ T cells expressing Vγ1.1 and Vγ2 genes were heterogeneous in normal mice. Accumulation of specific Vγ1.1 T cell clones was transiently detected 7 days after the injection in PEC, but no accumulation was observed in IHL and spleen cells. The accumulated clones disappeared by 4 weeks. Transient accumulation of Vγ2 T cell clones was also observed in PEC at the early phase after the injection. These results suggest that γδ T cells with specific TCR respond to PPD and temporary accumulate in the peritoneal cavity, but not in liver and spleen.