A role for CCR9 in T lymphocyte development and migration

S Uehara, A Grinberg, JM Farber… - The Journal of …, 2002 - journals.aai.org
S Uehara, A Grinberg, JM Farber, PE Love
The Journal of Immunology, 2002journals.aai.org
CCR9 mediates chemotaxis in response to CCL25/thymus-expressed chemokine and is
selectively expressed on T cells in the thymus and small intestine. To investigate the role of
CCR9 in T cell development, the CCR9 gene was disrupted by homologous recombination.
B cell development, thymic αβ-T cell development, and thymocyte selection appeared
unimpaired in adult CCR9-deficient (CCR9−/−) mice. However, competitive transplantation
experiments revealed that bone marrow from CCR9−/− mice was less efficient at …
Abstract
CCR9 mediates chemotaxis in response to CCL25/thymus-expressed chemokine and is selectively expressed on T cells in the thymus and small intestine. To investigate the role of CCR9 in T cell development, the CCR9 gene was disrupted by homologous recombination. B cell development, thymic αβ-T cell development, and thymocyte selection appeared unimpaired in adult CCR9-deficient (CCR9−/−) mice. However, competitive transplantation experiments revealed that bone marrow from CCR9−/− mice was less efficient at repopulating the thymus of lethally irradiated Rag-1−/− mice than bone marrow from littermate CCR9+/+ mice. CCR9−/− mice had increased numbers of peripheral γδ-T cells but reduced numbers of γδTCR+ and CD8αβ+ αβTCR+ intraepithelial lymphocytes in the small intestine. Thus, CCR9 plays an important, although not indispensable, role in regulating the development and/or migration of both αβ− and γδ− T lymphocytes.
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