2009/10/20 by Yin Wu, Wutian Wu, Wai Man Wong +7 · 2 citations
Immunology and Microbiology · #Immune Cell Function and Interaction #T-cell and B-cell Immunology #Immunotherapy and Immune Responses
paper · pdf · doi:10.4049/jimmunol.0901772
openalex publication_date 2009/10/20 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Professional phagocytosis in mammals is considered to be performed exclusively by myeloid cell types. In this study, we demonstrate, for the first time, that a mammalian lymphocyte subset can operate as a professional phagocyte. By using confocal microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and functional Ag presentation assays, we find that freshly isolated human peripheral blood gammadelta T cells can phagocytose Escherichia coli and 1 microm synthetic beads via Ab opsonization and CD16 (FcgammaRIII), leading to Ag processing and presentation on MHC class II. In contrast, other CD16(+) lymphocytes, i.e., CD16(+)/CD56(+) NK cells, were not capable of such functions. These findings of distinct myeloid characteristics in gammadelta T cells strongly support the suggestion that gammadelta T cells are evolutionarily ancient lymphocytes and have implications for our understanding of their role in transitional immunity and the control of infectious diseases and cancer.