Functional properties of lymphocytes isolated from murine small intestinal epithelium

Intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) were isolated from murine small intestine using a modification of previously published procedures. Analysis of IEL by immunofluorescence using monoclonal antibodies showed they were predominantly Lyt-2+ cells, with relatively few B cells or macrophages present. IEL cultured at sufficiently high cell densities proliferated in response to concanavalin A (Con A), phytohaemagglutin (PHA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). IEL were also capable of recognizing alloantigens in an in vivo graft-versus-host assay and in an in vitro mixed lymphocyte reaction. These studies therefore confirm that murine IEL contain cells with immunologic properties characteristic of typical T lymphocytes.