Conserved gd T cell selection by BTNL proteins limits progression of human inflammatory bowel disease

Robin J. Dart*, Iva Zlatareva, Pierre Vantourout, Efstathios Theodoridis, Ariella Amar, Shichina Kannambath, Philip East, Timothy Recaldin, John C. Mansfield, Christopher A. Lamb, Miles Parkes, Peter M. Irving, Natalie J. Prescott, Adrian C. Hayday*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Murine intraepithelial gd T cells include distinct tissue-protective cells selected by epithelial butyrophilin-like (BTNL) heteromers. To determine whether this biology is conserved in humans, we characterized the colonic gd T cell compartment, identifying a diverse repertoire that includes a phenotypically distinct subset coexpressing T cell receptor Vg4 and the epithelium-binding integrin CD103. This subset was disproportionately diminished and dysregulated in inflammatory bowel disease, whereas on-treatment CD103+gd T cell restoration was associated with sustained inflammatory bowel disease remission. Moreover, CD103+Vg4+ cell dysregulation and loss were also displayed by humans with germline BTNL3/BTNL8 hypomorphism, which we identified as a risk factor for penetrating Crohn's disease (CD). Thus, BTNL-dependent selection and/or maintenance of distinct tissue-intrinsic gd T cells appears to be an evolutionarily conserved axis limiting the progression of a complex, multifactorial, tissue-damaging disease of increasing global incidence.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberadh0301
JournalScience
Volume381
Issue number6663
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Sept 2023

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