Hallmarks of Tissue Resident Lymphocytes
Although they are classically viewed as continuously recirculating through the lymphoid organs and blood, lymphocytes also establish residency in non lymphoid tissues, most prominently at barrier sites, including the mucosal surfaces and skin. These specialized tissue resident lymphocyte subsets span the innate adaptive continuum and include innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) unconventional T cells (e.g. NKT, MAIT, gd T cells, and CD8aa( IELs) and tissue resident memory T (T(RM) cells. Although these diverse cell types differ in the particulars of their biology, they nonetheless exhibit important shared features, including a role in the preservation of tissue integrity and function during homeostasis, infection, and non infectious perturbations. In this Review, we discuss the hallmarks of tissue resident innate, innate like, and adaptive lymphocytes, as well as their potential functions in non lymphoid organs.
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