Unusual T cell receptor phenotype V gene usage of γδ T cells in a line derived from the peripheral nerve of a patient with Guillain-Barre syndrome

Abstract

Guillain-Barre syndrome is considered to be an immune mediated disorder but the relative role of T cells and antibodies in its pathogenesis is unclear. As gut infection with Campylobacter jejuni is the most common antecedent infection it is possible that gut derived T lymphocytes might play a part in the development of the syndrome. The T cell receptor phenotype (TCR) of a nerve γδ T cell line obtained from a sural nerve biopsy taken from a patient with a demyelinating form of GBS was determined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and flow cytometry (FACS). This TCR was compared with the phenotype preferentially expressed in the peripheral blood of the same patient. The T cell nerve line was found to express Vγ8/δ1 which represents an unusual T cell subset normally found on lymphocytes resident in epithelial tissue such as the gut. The peripheral blood γδ T lymphocytes from the patient were of the Vγ9/δ2 subset, which is the phenotype predominantly expressed in the peripheral blood of healthy subjects. In conclusion, the presence of this unusual population of Vγ8/δ1+ lymphocytes in nerve would be consistent with a pathogenetic role for gut associated lymphocytes in the pathogenesis of Guillain-Barre syndrome associated with C jejuni.