Preparation of lymphoid cells from small specimens of human gastrointestinal mucosa

Several methods for the preparation of cell suspensions from human gastrointestinal mucosa were investigated. Satisfactory suspensions were obtained by incubating tissue fragments in a solution of collagenase and hyaluronidase overnight at 4 degrees C followed by 30 minutes at 37 degrees C. The resulting suspension contained large numbers of intact lymphoid cells; in addition, variable amounts of epithelial cells and cell debris were present. A high proportion of the lymphoid cells were shown by immunofluorescence to contain immunoglobulin (mainly IgA). Viability of these cells was demonstrated by dye exclusion, their ability to survive in short-term culture, and their ability to incorporate radio-labelled amino acid into immunoglobulin in vitro.