Tissue Resident Memory Gamma Delta T Cells In Murine Uterus Expressed High Levels Of Il-17 Promoting The Invasion Of Trophocytes

gamma delta T cells are non-conventional T cells and serve as the bridge for connecting the innate and adaptive immune systems. gamma delta T cells form a substantial population at barrier sites and play an important role in the development of physiology, inflammation, autoimmune diseases and tumors. gamma delta T cells not only distribute in the maternal-fetal interface during pregnancy but also in non-pregnant uterus. However, the phenotypes and functions of gamma delta T cells in uterus were not clear. In the current study, we found that the percentages of gamma delta T cells were significantly higher in uterus than peripheral blood and most of gamma delta T cells in uterus were distributed in endometrium. Further studies indicated that the majority of gamma delta T cells in uterus were memory cells with higher expression of CD44 and CD27 but lower expression of CD62L and CCR7 compared to those in blood. In addition, we found that gamma delta T cells in uterus were tissue resident memory gamma delta T cells expressing CD69, expressed high levels of CCR6, GranzymeB and CD107a. Moreover, gamma delta T cells in uterus were activated and fully expressed transcription factor ROR gamma t. After short time of activation, gamma delta T cells in uterus significantly expressed high levels of IL-17 but not IFN-gamma, which promotes the invasion of murine trophocytes. Taken together, our study will lay the foundation for future research on uterine gamma delta T cells in pregnancy and autoimmune disease.