γδ T cell receptor repertoire in blood and colonic mucosa of rhesus macaques

Although their precise roles are not well defined, gamma delta T lymphocytes are recognized as regular components of immune responses. These cells express a limited T cell receptor repertoire and they can be stimulated by soluble ligands without conventional processing and presentation by major histocompatibility antigens. Progress in this area has been limited by the substantial differences between murine and human gamma delta T cells and the lack of knowledge about these cells in nonhuman primates. We used molecular analysis of T cell receptor diversity to characterize gamma delta T cell populations from peripheral blood and colon of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). The gamma delta T cell receptor diversity was limited and distinct for these tissue compartments. particularly in the TCRGV2 family. Furthermore, the TCRDV1+ subset of peripheral blood gamma delta T cells showed signs of progressive oligoclonalization as a function of age. Similar observations have been reported for human tissue samples and our results validate rhesus macaques as an appropriate animal model for studying primate gamma delta T cell populations.