The effect of bacterial colonies expanded into the intervillous spaces on the
localization of several lymphocyte lineages was immunohistochemically investigated in two
types of mucosa: ordinary mucosa of rat ileum, which consists of mucosa without any
mucosal lymphatic tissue; and follicle-associated mucosa (FAM), which accompanies the
parafollicular area under the muscularis mucosae in the rat ileal Peyer’s patch. The
results showed that bacterial colonies in the intervillous spaces induced increased
populations of CD8
+
cells in the epithelium of the intestinal villus in
ordinary mucosa (IV) and intestinal villus in FAM (IV-FAM). Bacterial colonies in the
intervillous spaces were also associated with increased numbers of IgA
+
cells,
which were mainly localized in the lamina propria of basal portions of IV and IV-FAM, and
with expanded localization of IgA
+
cells into the villous apex in both IV and
IV-FAM. Moreover, IgA
+
cells around the intestinal crypts adjacent to IV or
IV-FAM were also increased in response to bacterial colonies. In the IV-FAM, but not IV,
L-selectin
+
cells, which were found to be immunopositive for TCRαβ or CD19,
were drastically increased in the lamina propria from the crypt to middle portion of
IV-FAM and in the lumen of central lymph vessel of IV-FAM in response to the bacterial
colonies in the intervillous spaces. These findings revealed that the expansion of
bacterial colonies into the intervillous spaces accompanies the change of histological
localization of the lymphocyte lineage in both the ordinary mucosa and FAM.