A Murine Intestinal Intraepithelial NKp46-Negative Innate Lymphoid Cell Population Characterized by Group 1 Properties
Aline Van Acker,
Konrad Gronke,
Aindrila Biswas,
Liesbet Martens,
Yvan Saeys,
Jessica Filtjens,
Sylvie Taveirne,
Els Van Ammel,
Tessa Kerre,
Patrick Matthys,
Tom Taghon,
Bart Vandekerckhove,
Jean Plum,
Ildiko Rita Dunay,
Andreas Diefenbach,
Georges Leclercq
Affiliations
Aline Van Acker
Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Konrad Gronke
Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
Aindrila Biswas
Institute of Inflammation and Neurodegeneration, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
Liesbet Martens
VIB Inflammation Research Centre, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Yvan Saeys
VIB Inflammation Research Centre, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Jessica Filtjens
Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Sylvie Taveirne
Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Els Van Ammel
Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Tessa Kerre
Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Patrick Matthys
Laboratory of Immunobiology, Rega Institute for Medical Research, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, KU Leuven - University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
Tom Taghon
Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Bart Vandekerckhove
Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Jean Plum
Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Ildiko Rita Dunay
Institute of Inflammation and Neurodegeneration, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
Andreas Diefenbach
Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, 55131 Mainz, Germany
Georges Leclercq
Laboratory of Experimental Immunology, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
The Ly49E receptor is preferentially expressed on murine innate-like lymphocytes, such as epidermal Vγ3 T cells, intestinal intraepithelial CD8αα+ T lymphocytes, and CD49a+ liver natural killer (NK) cells. As the latter have recently been shown to be distinct from conventional NK cells and have innate lymphoid cell type 1 (ILC1) properties, we investigated Ly49E expression on intestinal ILC populations. Here, we show that Ly49E expression is very low on known ILC populations, but it can be used to define a previously unrecognized intraepithelial innate lymphoid population. This Ly49E-positive population is negative for NKp46 and CD8αα, expresses CD49a and CD103, and requires T-bet expression and IL-15 signaling for differentiation and/or survival. Transcriptome analysis reveals a group 1 ILC gene profile, different from NK cells, iCD8α cells, and intraepithelial ILC1. Importantly, NKp46−CD8αα−Ly49E+ cells produce interferon (IFN)-γ, suggesting that this previously unrecognized population may contribute to Th1-mediated immunity.
