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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Isolation and Characterization of Dendritic Cells and Macrophages from the Mouse Intestine
Published on: May 21, 2012
CD56 marks an effector T cell subset in the human intestine
Offer Cohavy1, Stephan R Targan
1Cedars-Sinai Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
Abstract:
T cells are key mediators of intestinal immunity, and specific T cell subsets can have differing immunoregulatory roles in animal models of mucosal inflammation. In this study, we describe human CD56+ T cells as a morphologically distinct population expressing a mature, nonproliferative phenotype that is frequent in the gut. Enhanced potential for IFN-gamma and TNF synthesis suggested a proinflammatory function, and we directly demonstrate effector function mediated by direct T-T interaction with responder cells in vitro. CD56+ T cells from peripheral blood responded to the gut-related CD2 signal, and were necessary for effective CD2-mediated proliferation of peripheral blood CD56- T cells. Our findings associate CD56+ T cells with the intestinal immune compartment and suggest a putative effector function in human mucosal immunity.
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