Kinetics and distribution of bovine gammadelta T-lymphocyte in the intestine: gammadelta T cells accumulate in the dome region of Peyer's patch during prenatal development.

The kinetics and distribution of gammadelta T cells in bovine intestine including jejunal and ileal Peyer's patch were examined. The number of gammadelta T cells increased significantly in the dome region during prenatal development, but decreased notably after birth. The number of some gammadelta T cells, CD4+ cells, and CD8+ cells in the intestinal villi remained constant during prenatal development, but increased significantly after birth. The kinetics of the gammadelta T cells in the dome region during prenatal development were quite distinct from those of the gammadelta T cells, CD4+ cells, and CD8+ cells in the intestinal villi. In the fetal ileum at full-term gestation, the frequencies of expression of the T-cell receptor gamma variable region (TCR Vgamma) family were TCR Vgamma1 (48%), Vgamma2 (4%), and Vgamma5 (48%). However, in 2-month-old calf ileum, TCR Vgamma5 (90%) was dominant. We speculate that functional differences exist between gammadelta T cells in the dome region during prenatal development and in the intestinal villi after birth.