Authors: L. Monin, D. S. Ushakov, H. Arnesen, N. Bah, A. Jandke, M. Muñoz-Ruiz, J. Carvalho, S. Joseph, B. C. Almeida, M. J. Green, E. Nye, S. Hatano, Y. Yoshikai, M. Curtis, H. Carlsen, U. Steinhoff, P. Boysen & A. Hayday
This most comprehensive analysis to date of γδ T cells in the murine uterus reveals them to compose a unique local T-cell compartment. Consistent with earlier reports, most cells expressed a canonical Vγ6Vδ1 TCR, and produced interleukin (IL)-17A upon stimulation. Nonetheless, contrasting with earlier reports, uterine γδ T cells were not obviously intraepithelial, being more akin to sub-epithelial Vγ6Vδ1+ T cells at several other anatomical sites. By contrast to other tissues however, the uterine compartment also included non-Vγ6+, IFN-γ-producing cells; was strikingly enriched in young mice; expressed genes hitherto associated with the uterus, including the progesterone receptor; and did not require microbes for development and/or maintenance. This notwithstanding, γδ T-cell deficiency severely impaired resistance to reproductive tract infection by Candida albicans, associated with decreased responses of IL-17-dependent neutrophils. These findings emphasise tissue-specific complexities of different mucosal γδ cell compartments, and their evident importance in lymphoid stress-surveillance against barrier infection.
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41385-020-0305-7