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. 1994 Nov 10;372(6502):190-3.
doi: 10.1038/372190a0.

Adhesion between epithelial cells and T lymphocytes mediated by E-cadherin and the alpha E beta 7 integrin

K L Cepek  1 , S K Shaw, C M Parker, G J Russell, J S Morrow, D L Rimm, M B Brenner
Affiliations

Adhesion between epithelial cells and T lymphocytes mediated by E-cadherin and the alpha E beta 7 integrin

K L Cepek et al. Nature. .

Abstract

In contrast to sessile cell types, lymphocytes migrate through the vasculature to become diffusely distributed in tissues or organized in lymphoid structures. A complex array of adhesion molecules including selectins, integrins and their counter-receptors mediate lymphocyte homing and migration into tissues and may be constitutively expressed or induced. However, the molecules that mediate the tissue-specific retention of lymphocytes within the parenchyma have not been identified. Along the epithelium at the basolateral surface of enterocytes, intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes are found. These T cells of the mucosal immune system serve as a model for the tissue-specific compartmentalization of lymphocytes. We investigated whether the localization of these intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes could be mediated by specific interactions between adhesion molecules expressed selectively on this subpopulation of T cells and tissue-restricted adhesion molecules on epithelial cells. Here we show that heterotypic adhesive interactions between epithelial cells and intraepithelial lymphocytes in vitro are mediated by E-cadherin and the alpha E beta 7 integrin.

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