The number of intraepithelial T cells decreases from ascending colon to rectum

[...]CD8+CD103+ T cells have been shown to kill epithelial targets in vitro, 3 and have been implicated in disease processes such as tubular destruction during renal allograft rejection. 4 The potential for modulation of experimental colitis by the administration of antibodies directed at CD103 provides evidence that these cells might also act as effectors during this disease. 5 Given the increasing severity of ulcerative colitis from the proximal to distal colon, it is perhaps reasonable to propose the existence of a similar gradient in the number of potential T cell effectors within the epithelium of the normal colon. Summary cell count data showing the number of cells positive for CD3 (closed diamonds), CD8 (closed circles), and CD103 (closed squares) in each crypt within sections from the ascending (asc), transverse (trans), descending (desc), and sigmoid (sig) colon and the rectum (rect) from eight normal patients.