Systemic IL-12 burst expands intestinal T-lymphocyte subsets bearing the α4 β7 integrin in mice

PEDROTTI LP ; BARRIOS BE; MACCIO-MARETTO L; BENTO AF; SENA AA; MARIA CECILIA RODRIGUEZ GALAN; CALIXTO JB; CORREA SG.

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH

Lugar: Weinheim; Año: 2016

he intestinal immune system is complex and displays unique anatomic and functional characteristics. Numerous immune cell subsets are located beneath the epithelial barrier and their activity is highly regulated. Using hydrodynamic shear of IL-12 cDNA to achieve systemic expression of IL-12 in mice, we evaluated the effect of a transient burst of this cytokine on the activation status of T cells from Peyer´s patches (PPs), mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs), and colonic lamina propria (LP). Following systemic IL-12 release, intestinal T lymphocytes became activated, exhibiting a CD44high CD62L- phenotype. After 5 days of the cytokine burst, the frequency of α4β7+ CD4+ and CD8+ cells increased, and CD8+ α4β7+ cells mainly expressed T bet, a critical regulator of the Th1 differentiation program. The incremental increase in α4β7 expression involved the IL-12 receptor-signal transducer and