During early neonatal life, important changes occur in the gut. The intestine is challenged by
both milk and a microbial flora. Later on, at weaning, the diet of mice changes from milk to
pelleted food leading to changes in microbial contents. This period seems essential for a complete
development of the mucosal immune system. We investigated the development of both
intraepithelial (IEL) and lamina propria lymphocytes (LPL), from day 5, and every 5 days, up
to day 30 after birth. IEL and LPL were isolated from the small intestine and the phenotype
was assessed by FACS analyses, using antibodies for detection of T-cell markers CD3,
TCRαβ, TCRγδ, CD4, CD8α, CD8β, CD5, CD18, CD54, and CD49d. Our data show a clear
increase in the number of LPL just before weaning, while the number of IEL increased after
day 15. A more mature pattern of membrane antigen expression of both IEL and LPL was observed
at weaning. The adhesion molecules CD18, CD54, and CD49d, essential for cellular
communication of lymphocytes, showed an expression peak at weaning. In conclusion, the
mouse mucosal immune system develops during the first 3 weeks of neonatal life leading to
the formation of a more mature immune system at weaning.
Keywords: intestine, intraepithelial lymphocytes, lamina propria lymphocytes, mucosal immune system, ontogeny



1 Wim A. Buurman,2 and Pierre-Philippe Forget1
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