T cell receptor vß gene expression in inflammatory bowel disease lamina propria lymphocytes: evidence for altered vß gene usage.

: In this study the TCR-Vß repertoire expressed in T cells of lamina propria mononuclear cells (LPMC) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was examined using a reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) technique for TCR-Vß mRNA. Using a qualitative RT-PCR method, LPMC of patients with IBD and control individuals were shown to contain mRNA for each of 20 TCR-Vß families, indicating that IBD is not associated with a major deletion or expansion of any TCR-Vß family. Subsequently, using a quantitative method for four frequently expressed TCR-Vß families, it was shown that the pattern of TCR-Vß expression was different in PBMC and LPMC of both IBD patients and control individuals. In addition, it was shown that the LPMC/PBMC ratio of mean mRNA values for TCR-Vß2, but not for TCR-Vß6, 7, and 14 was lower in IBD patients than control individuals. These results show that the TCR-Vß repertoire in PBMC and LPMC is different both in IBD patients and control individuals. In addition, they show that the TCR-Vß repertoire is altered in IBD, possibly due to an immune response to disease specific antigens, superantigens or neoantigens.