Intraepithelial T-Lymphocyte of the Intestine

**Semantic type:** Cell

**Definition:** A mature T lymphocyte, found in the intestinal lining that differentiates from its precursor outside the thymus, most likely in an area of the gut identified as cryptopatch aggregates. This cell plays a key role in cell-mediated mucosal defense, the down-regulation of immune responses to harmless luminal antigens and in epithelial cell growth and repair.