Human intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes.

Intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes: the plot thickens

O ver the last few years, the characterization of T lyraphocytes within the intestinal epithelium (ilEL) has revealed phenotypic and functional heterogeneity that rivals only that observed within the thymus. Of note in this context is that thymic and intestinal epithdia share the same embryologic origin in that they are both derived from endoderm. Several lines of evidence have led to the concl...

Cell Density Counts of the Intestinal Intraepithelial Lymphocytes in the Celiac Patients

Background: Increased number of intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) is a key histological finding in the diagnosis of celiac disease (CD); however, the number of IELs in celiac patients and healthy subjects may vary from one region to another. Additionally, there are some seronegative celiac patients with a borderline histology. Objective: To determin...

Small Intestinal Intraepithelial Lymphocytes Maximum Immunobioactivity of Murine

Migration of intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes into a polarized epithelial monolayer.

Intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) are a phenotypically distinct population of lymphocytes that reside in mucosal epithelia, below the intercellular tight junctions. Although adhesive functions of this population have been previously studied, relatively little is known about IEL migration from the microvasculature into the epithelium. We demonstrated that cultured human IEL were capable of migra...

Fas Ligand–mediated Killing by Intestinal Intraepithelial Lymphocytes

In vitro studies have demonstrated that intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) are constitutively cytotoxic; however, the mechanism and target of their cytotoxicity are unknown. Apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells (IEC) and an increase in IEL numbers are classical signs of intestinal graftversus-host disease (GVHD), although whether IEL can mediate IEC apoptosis directly in GVHD is u...