Figure 2
From: A committed postselection precursor to natural TCRαβ+ intraepithelial lymphocytes
T-bet+ intraepithelial lymphocyte precursors (IELPs) increase over the first 2 weeks of life and remain constant thereafter. (a) Upper row shows flow cytometric analysis of freshly isolated thymocytes from TBGR mice of different ages (0.25, 0.5, 1, 3, and 6 months). Double-negative (DN) thymocytes (CD4−CD8β−) at different ages were further analyzed for the presence of natural killer T (NKT) cells (NK1.1+TCRβ+) and IELPs (NK1.1−TCRβ+) (both middle row). In the bottom row IELPs were analyzed and divided into three subpopulations based on the expression of CD122 and T-bet (ZsGreen): CD122−T-bet−, CD122+T-bet−, and CD122+T-bet+. Arrows between rows indicate sequential gating strategy. Numbers in or next to quadrant gates denote percentages (mean±s.e.m.) from at least four mice per time point. (b) Absolute cell numbers (mean±s.e.m.) of DN cells (as gated in upper row of a), NKTs and IELPs (as gated in middle row of a), and CD122−T-bet−, CD122+T-bet−, and CD122+T-bet+ IELPs (as gated in bottom row of a) are given for the different cell populations and time points as described in (a). *P<0.05; **P<0.01; and ***P<0.001.
