Distribution of α4β7 and αEβ7 integrins on thymocytes, intestinal epithelial lymphocytes and peripheral lymphocytes

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Abstract
β7 is expressed on subsets of thymocytes, while T and B lymphocytes show heterogeneous expression of β7. Here, we examine the phenotype of the thymocyte and lymphocyte subsets which express α4β7 and αEβ7 using mAb against αEβ7 and mAb DATK32 which recognizes a combinatorial epitope on α4β7. β7+ thymocytes have a mature phenotype: TcR+, CD11ahi CD44hi HSAdull. Small subsets of double‐negative CD4−CD8−, single‐positive CD4+ and CD8+ thymocytes express α7, while double‐positive CD4+ CD8+ thymocytes are β7. However, two integrins αEβ7 and α4β7 recognized by anti‐β7 are not expressed on an identical subpopulation of thymocytes, as βEα7+α4β7−, αEβ7+α4β7+ and αEβ7−α4β7+ thymocyte subsets are evident. Similarly, intraepithelial lymphocytes express high levels of αEβ7 but little α4β7. In the spleen, Peyer's patches and lymph nodes, α4β7 is expressed at higher levels on most B lymphocytes than on the majority of T lymphocytes, while a small subset of T lymphocytes, which includes both CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes, express high levels of β7 in the form of α4β7 and αEβ7, although, as observed with lymphocytes, not all α4β7hi CD4− lymphocytes expressed α4β7. The population of α4β7hi CD4 lymphocytes are enriched in Peyer's patches and form subsets of the memory CD4+ lymphocyte population, which can be further subdivided on the basis of αEβ7, L‐selectin and α4 expression. Therefore, memory CD4+ lymphocytes are highly heterogeneous in their expression of adhesion receptors, and presumably these subpopulations will exhibit very different trafficking properties.

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