Biomedical subjects

Gerard B Nash

Publications and source records attributed to Gerard B Nash.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Capture of flowing human neutrophils by immobilised immunoglobulin: roles of Fc-receptors CD16 and CD32.

We investigated capture and activation of flowing human neutrophils through their Fc-receptors, FcRgammaIIIB (CD16) and FcRgammaIIA (CD32). Immobilised platelets bearing murine monoclonal antibody against glycoprotein IIbIIIA were able to capture and activate flowing neutrophils. The activation response was inhibited by antibody blockade of neutrophil CD32. However, capture only occurred efficiently at wall shear stress below 0.1 Pa if platelet P-selectin was blocked. If neutrophils were perfused over immobilised human IgG, many adhered at 0.025 or 0.05 Pa, but not at 0.1 Pa. Adhesion was reduced by blockade of CD16 or CD32, but blockade of CD16 had the greater effect. When neutrophils were perfused over a combination of purified P-selectin and IgG, blockade of CD16 and CD32 inhibited activation of captured cells. Immunoglobulin deposited in tissue could capture and activate slow-flowing neutrophils. It might also potentiate inflammatory responses at higher stress if presented along with selectins. The dominant FcR for capture of neutrophils was CD16, but with murine antibody, CD32 played a greater role.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Chemokine- and adhesion-dependent survival of neutrophils after transmigration through cytokine-stimulated endothelium.

We examined the fate of neutrophils following transmigration through an endothelial monolayer cultured on "Transwell" membrane filters. Treatment of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) with increasing doses of tumor necrosis factor-alpha increased the efficiency of transmigration and markedly reduced apoptosis among the transmigrated neutrophils in a dose-dependent manner. Apoptosis was also inhibited after transmigration of neutrophils through HUVEC stimulated with interleukin (IL)-1beta but not so effectively after chemotaxis through unstimulated HUVEC driven by IL-8 added below the filter. Inhibition of beta2-integrin binding after transmigration or coating the lower chamber with a nonadhesive polymer (polyhydroxyl-ethyl-methacrylate) abrogated neutrophil survival. Although integrin engagement during migration itself was not essential to inhibit apoptosis, activation of neutrophils through CXC chemokine receptors was necessary. Quite brief exposure to the HUVEC (30-120 min) was effective in reducing subsequent apoptosis, although if coincubation with the HUVEC were prolonged, neutrophil apoptosis was reduced further. Neutralization of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor inhibited this additional effect. Thus, a complex interplay between migration- and activation-dependent signals and adhesive interaction in tissue may combine to effectively prolong the survival of neutrophils recruited during inflammation.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2006

Differential survival of leukocyte subsets mediated by synovial, bone marrow, and skin fibroblasts: site-specific versus activation-dependent survival of T cells and neutrophils.

OBJECTIVE: Synovial fibroblasts share a number of phenotype markers with fibroblasts derived from bone marrow. In this study we investigated the role of matched fibroblasts obtained from 3 different sources (bone marrow, synovium, and skin) to test the hypothesis that synovial fibroblasts share similarities with bone marrow-derived fibroblasts in terms of their ability to support survival of T cells and neutrophils. METHODS: Matched synovial, bone marrow, and skin fibroblasts were established from 8 different patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were undergoing knee or hip surgery. Resting or activated fibroblasts were cocultured with either CD4 T cells or neutrophils, and the degree of leukocyte survival, apoptosis, and proliferation were measured. RESULTS: Fibroblasts derived from all 3 sites supported increased survival of CD4 T cells, mediated principally by interferon-beta. However, synovial and bone marrow fibroblasts shared an enhanced site-specific ability to maintain CD4 T cell survival in the absence of proliferation, an effect that was independent of fibroblast activation or proliferation but required direct T cell-fibroblast cell contact. In contrast, fibroblast-mediated neutrophil survival was less efficient, being independent of the site of origin of the fibroblast but dependent on prior fibroblast activation, and mediated solely by soluble factors, principally granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. CONCLUSION: These results suggest an important functional role for fibroblasts in the differential accumulation of leukocyte subsets in a variety of tissue microenvironments. The findings also provide a potential explanation for site-specific differences in the pattern of T cell and neutrophil accumulation observed in chronic inflammatory diseases.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2006

Phototoxicity and fluorotoxicity combine to alter the behavior of neutrophils in fluorescence microscopy based flow adhesion assays.

The use of fluorescent probes that allow visualization of leukocyte-endothelial cell (EC) interactions has greatly informed our understanding of leukocyte recruitment. However, effects of these agents on the biological functions of leukocytes are poorly described, leading to concerns about the interpretation of such data. Here we used two flow-based neutrophil adhesion assays to compare the effects of phase contrast illumination (PCI) with high intensity illumination (HII) used for fluorescent microscopy, in the presence or absence of five commonly used fluorochromes. Isolated neutrophils were either (1) perfused across P-selectin to establish a population of rolling cells, which were subsequently activated with fMLP; or (2) perfused across EC activated with TNF-alpha. In the absence of fluorescent dyes, HII did not affect levels of leukocyte adhesion; however, subsequent neutrophil behavior was dramatically altered when compared with cells under PCI, for example, dramatically reducing their migration velocities. In the presence of fluorescent dyes, the effects of HII were exacerbated, although the precise nature of the biological effects of these probes was agent specific. Thus, for the first time, our experiments describe the effects of fluorescent microscopy on the separate stages of the neutrophil recruitment process and reveal a previously unsuspected effect of HII on neutrophil migration.

Cell Adhesion↗

PubMed2006

Effects of disturbed flow on endothelial cell function: Pathogenic implications of modified leukocyte recruitment.

Numerous studies have shown that intracellular signalling, transcription factor activation and gene expression in endothelial cells are modulated by the magnitude and patterns of shear stress to which they are exposed. Although these responses suggest that the haemodynamic environment will consequently modulate the ability of the endothelial cells to support leukocyte recruitment as part of an inflammatory response, direct evidence is quite sparse. It seems that disturbances of flow (such as local spatial or temporal variation or sudden cessation) are likely to be pathogenic co-factors, combined with mediators such as cytokines, oxidised lipids or hypoxia, in conditions such as atherosclerosis, post-surgical intimal hyperplasia and ischaemia/reperfusion injury. In fact there have been few experimental investigations of these scenarios that include measurement of leukocyte adhesion and migration. We recently demonstrated that the level of steady shear to which EC are exposed has a powerful effect on their ability to support cytokine-induced leukocyte adhesion and migration. However, more combined studies of flow and agonist-mediated responses, with functional readouts, appear necessary if we are to develop a better understanding of the mechanisms pre-disposing to vascular inflammatory responses and pathology.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

An in vitro model for analysing neutrophil migration into and away from the sub-endothelial space: Roles of flow and CD31.

To model the later stages of neutrophil migration into tissue, we developed an assay in which human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were cultured on porous filters, treated with the inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF), and then incorporated in a flow chamber. Video-microscopic observations were made of neutrophils as they were perfused over the HUVEC. When 3 microm pore filters were used (as opposed to 0.4 microm pore filters), neutrophils could be observed to migrate not only through the endothelial monolayer but also through the filter within minutes. The proportion of adherent neutrophils migrating through the endothelial monolayer and velocity of migration underneath it, were similar on the different filters, and also when neutrophils were perfused over cultures in glass capillaries, or settled on HUVEC cultured in standard plastic dishes. However, neutrophils migrated through HUVEC/filter constructs more rapidly in the flow chamber than in a standard, static, Transwell system, even though the velocities of migration under HUVEC were similar when directly observed under flow or static conditions. A function-blocking antibody against CD31 did not alter movement through the endothelial monolayer or the filter in the new flow system, but did reduce the migration velocity of neutrophils underneath the HUVEC (by 24%). Thus, we have developed a method for following each stage of neutrophil migration, including exit from the sub-endothelial space, and shown how they may be modified by applied fluid shear stress and blockade of a regulatory adhesion molecule.

Cell Adhesion↗

PubMed2005

Identification of a phenotypically and functionally distinct population of long-lived neutrophils in a model of reverse endothelial migration.

Recent studies have demonstrated that neutrophils are not a homogenous population of cells. Here, we have identified a subset of human neutrophils with a distinct profile of cell-surface receptors [CD54(high), CXC chemokine receptor 1(low) (CXCR1(low))], which represent cells that have migrated through an endothelial monolayer and then re-emerged by reverse transmigration (RT). RT neutrophils, when in contact with endothelium, were rescued from apoptosis, demonstrate functional priming, and were rheologically distinct from neutrophils that had not undergone transendothelial migration. In vivo, 1-2% of peripheral blood neutrophils in patients with systemic inflammation exhibit a RT phenotype. A smaller population existed in healthy donors ( approximately 0.25%). RT neutrophils were distinct from naïve circulatory neutrophils (CD54(low), CXCR1(high)) and naïve cells after activation with formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (CD54(low), CXCR1(low)). It is important that the RT phenotype (CD54(high), CXCR1(low)) is also distinct from tissue-resident neutrophils (CD54(low), CXCR1(low)). Our results demonstrate that neutrophils can migrate in a retrograde direction across endothelial cells and suggest that a population of tissue-experienced neutrophils with a distinct phenotype and function are present in the peripheral circulation in humans in vivo.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2005

Cellular pathology of atherosclerosis: smooth muscle cells promote adhesion of platelets to cocultured endothelial cells.

Although platelets do not ordinarily bind to endothelial cells (EC), pathological interactions between platelets and arterial EC may contribute to the propagation of atheroma. Previously, in an in vitro model of atherogenesis, where leukocyte adhesion to EC cocultured with smooth muscle cells was greatly enhanced, we also observed attachment of platelets to the EC layer. Developing this system to specifically model platelet adhesion, we show that EC cocultured with smooth muscle cells can bind platelets in a process that is dependent on EC activation by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1. Recapitulating the model using EC alone, we found that a combination of TGF-beta1 and TNF-alpha promoted high levels of platelet adhesion compared with either agent used in isolation. Platelet adhesion was inhibited by antibodies against GPIb-IX-V or alpha(IIb)beta3 integrin, indicating that both receptors are required for stable adhesion. Platelet activation during interaction with the EC was also essential, as treatment with prostacyclin or theophylline abolished stable adhesion. Confocal microscopy of the surface of EC activated with TNF-alpha and TGF-beta1 revealed an extensive matrix of von Willebrand factor that was able to support the adhesion of flowing platelets at wall shear rates below 400 s(-1). Thus, we have demonstrated a novel route of EC activation which is relevant to the atherosclerotic microenvironment. EC activated in this manner would therefore be capable of recruiting platelets in the low-shear environments that commonly exist at points of atheroma formation.

Atherosclerosis↗

PubMed2005

Prolonged culture of endothelial cells and deposition of basement membrane modify the recruitment of neutrophils.

We tested whether endothelial cell conditioning during prolonged culture and deposition of basement membrane (BM) could modify neutrophil recruitment induced by the inflammatory cytokine, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF). Confluent endothelial cells (EC) from human umbilical veins were cultured for 1 to 20 days and then stimulated with 1, 10 or 100 U/ml of TNF for 4 h. When isolated neutrophils were settled on EC stimulated with the lower doses of TNF, the levels of adhesion and the proportion of adherent cells that transmigrated increased markedly with time of culture. At 100 U/ml TNF, time of culture had little effect on recruitment, but the transmigrated neutrophils moved more slowly under the monolayer in longer-term cultures. The inhibitory effects of function-blocking antibodies against E-selectin and beta2-integrin, and studies in which neutrophils were perfused over short- or long-term cultures, suggested that increased adhesion and migration arose from increased efficiency of neutrophil activation by the EC. Prolonged culture was also associated with deposition of a distinct BM. When fresh EC were seeded on day 20 BM, transmigrated neutrophils moved more slowly under the EC than under control monolayers. Thus, EC change their pro-inflammatory phenotype during prolonged culture, and the deposited basement membrane influences neutrophil migration.

Basement Membrane↗

PubMed2005

Interaction between integrin alpha9beta1 and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) inhibits neutrophil apoptosis.

According to the prevailing paradigm, neutrophils are short-lived cells that undergo spontaneous apoptosis within 24 hours of their release from the bone marrow. However, neutrophil survival can be significantly prolonged within inflamed tissue by cytokines, inflammatory mediators, and hypoxia. During screening experiments aimed at identifying the effect of the adhesive microenvironment on neutrophil survival, we found that VCAM-1 (CD106) was able to delay both spontaneous and Fas-induced apoptosis. VCAM-1-mediated survival was as efficient as that induced by the cytokine IFN-beta and provided an additive, increased delay in apoptosis when given in combination with IFN-beta. VCAM-1 delivered its antiapoptotic effect through binding the integrin alpha9beta1. The alpha9beta1 signaling pathway shares significant features with the IFN-beta survival signaling pathway, requiring PI3 kinase, NF-kappaB activation, as well as de novo protein synthesis, but the kinetics of NF-kappaB activation by VCAM-1 were slower and more sustained compared with IFN-beta. This study demonstrates a novel functional role for alpha9beta1 in neutrophil biology and suggests that adhesive signaling pathways provide an important extrinsic checkpoint for the resolution of inflammatory responses in tissues.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed2005

Inhibition of cortisol production with metyrapone prevents mental stress-induced endothelial dysfunction and baroreflex impairment.

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to investigate the role of cortisol in stress-induced endothelial dysfunction and impaired baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) by blocking cortisol production with metyrapone before subjecting healthy volunteers to mental stress. BACKGROUND: Mental stress raises cortisol levels and is associated with increased coronary heart disease (CHD) morbidity and mortality, especially from sudden cardiac death. It also causes endothelial dysfunction and impaired BRS. METHODS: We measured brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD), a measure of endothelial function, and BRS in 36 subjects without CHD risk factors who were then randomized in a double-blind fashion to oral metyrapone 750 mg x 2 or placebo. Five hours later we subjected subjects to mental stress and then remeasured endothelial function and BRS. RESULTS: Prestress cortisol levels were significantly higher in the placebo group at 270.5 (30.9) nmol/l versus 89.1 (11.8) nmol/l (p = 0.01), and the increase with stress was higher at 57.9 (17.9) nmol/l versus 11.2 (2.2) nmol/l (p < 0.001). In the placebo group, compared to baseline, FMD and BRS fell significantly from 4.5% (0.7%) to 1.4% (1.1%) (p = 0.02) and 21.4 (2.3) ms/mmHg to 16.3 (1.5) ms/mmHg (p = 0.04), respectively. In the metyrapone group, FMD and BRS were unchanged from baseline: 4.3% (0.9%) versus 5.1% (0.8%) (p = 0.48) and 26.4 (2.9) ms/mmHg versus 24.9 (2.6) ms/mmHg (p = 0.62), respectively. Analysis of covariation showed a significant effect of metyrapone on change in both FMD (p = 0.009) and BRS (p = 0.024). CONCLUSIONS: Stress-related endothelial dysfunction and BRS impairment can be prevented by blocking cortisol production with metyrapone, demonstrating a direct or facilitative role for cortisol in these phenomena and suggesting mechanisms by which stress contributes to CHD and sudden cardiac death.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Endothelial cells, fibroblasts and vasculitis.

One of the most important questions in vasculitis research is not why inflammation of blood vessels occurs but why it persists, often in a site-specific manner. In this review we illustrate how stromal cells, such as fibroblasts and pericytes, might play an important role in regulating the site at which vasculitis occurs. Smooth muscle cells and fibroblasts directly influence the behaviour of overlying vascular cells, amplifying the response of the endothelium to proinflammatory agents such as TNF-alpha and allowing enhanced and inappropriate leucocyte recruitment. An abnormal local vascular stromal environment can therefore influence local endothelial function and drive the persistence of local vascular inflammation. However, such local vascular inflammation can have distant effects on the systemic vascular system, leading to widespread endothelial cell dysfunction. Vascular endothelial dysfunction is common in a range of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, is seen in multiple vascular beds, and is reversible following the induction of disease remission. The mechanisms that drive such systemic vascular endothelial dysfunction are unclear but factors such as TNF-alpha and CRP may play a role. Persistence of such widespread endothelial dysfunction in systemic vasculitis appears to have long-term consequences, leading to the acceleration of atherosclerosis and premature ischaemic heart disease. It may also underlie the accelerated atherosclerosis seen in other immune-mediated rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Cell Communication↗

PubMed2005

A novel mechanism of neutrophil recruitment in a coculture model of the rheumatoid synovium.

OBJECTIVE: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is classically thought of as a Th1, T lymphocyte-driven disease of the adaptive immune system. However, cells of the innate immune system, including neutrophils, are prevalent within the diseased joint, and accumulate in large numbers. This study was undertaken to determine whether cells of the rheumatoid stromal microenvironment could establish an inflammatory environment in which endothelial cells are conditioned in a disease-specific manner to support neutrophil recruitment. METHODS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (ECs) and fibroblasts isolated from the synovium or skin of RA patients were established in coculture on opposite sides of porous transwell filters. After 24 hours of EC conditioning, the membranes were incorporated into a parallel-plate, flow-based adhesion assay and levels of neutrophil adhesion to ECs were measured. RESULTS: ECs cocultured with synovial, but not skin, fibroblasts could recruit neutrophils in a manner that was dependent on the number of fibroblasts. Antibody blockade of P-selectin or E-selectin reduced neutrophil adhesion, and an antibody against CD18 (the beta2 integrin) abolished adhesion. Blockade of CXCR2, but not CXCR1, also greatly inhibited neutrophil recruitment. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was detectable in coculture supernatants, and both IL-6 and neutrophil adhesion were reduced in a dose-dependent manner by hydrocortisone added to cocultures. Antibody blockade of IL-6 also effectively abolished neutrophil adhesion. CONCLUSION: Synovial fibroblasts from the rheumatoid joint play an important role in regulating the recruitment of inflammatory leukocytes during active disease. This process may depend on a previously unsuspected route of IL-6-mediated crosstalk between fibroblasts and endothelial cells.

Antibodies, Blocking↗

PubMed2005

Lymphocyte traffic through sinusoidal endothelial cells is regulated by hepatocytes.

Crosstalk between hepatic sinusoidal ECs and closely juxtaposed hepatocytes via vascular endothelial growth factor is essential for the maintenance of sinusoidal endothelial growth and differentiation. We propose that paracrine interactions between endothelial cells and hepatocytes also may be responsible for the unique complement of adhesion receptors expressed on sinusoidal endothelium that regulate the recruitment of lymphocytes into the liver. To address this hypothesis, we developed an in vitro model of the hepatic sinusoid in which flowing lymphocytes could interact with hepatic endothelium conditioned by the presence of hepatocytes. Human hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells cocultured with hepatocytes were activated so that they supported the adhesion of lymphocytes at levels equivalent to those seen on endothelium stimulated with the inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor-beta. Lymphocyte adhesion was supported by intracellular adhesion molecule 1, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1, and E-selectin, with an additional contribution from the novel adhesion receptor VAP-1. In conclusion, we show that interactions between hepatocytes and endothelial cells amplify leukocyte recruitment through the sinusoids by regulating the expression and function of endothelial adhesion molecules. These paracrine interactions may be responsible for the induction of the adhesion molecules that support constitutive lymphocyte recruitment to the liver as well as contributing significantly to the patterns of leukocyte adhesion seen during episodes of hepatic inflammation.

Amine Oxidase (Copper-Containing)↗

PubMed2005

A stromal address code defined by fibroblasts.

To navigate into and within tissues, leukocytes require guidance cues that enable them to recognize which tissues to enter and which to avoid. Such cues are partly provided at the time of extravasation from blood by an endothelial address code on the luminal surface of the vascular endothelium. Here, we review the evidence that fibroblasts help define an additional stromal address code that directs leukocyte behaviour within tissues. We examine how this stromal code regulates site-specific leukocyte accumulation, differentiation and survival in a variety of physiological stromal niches, and how the aberrant expression of components of this code in the wrong tissue at the wrong time contributes to the persistence of chronic inflammatory diseases.

Dendritic Cells↗

PubMed2005

Differing mechanisms of leukocyte recruitment and sensitivity to conditioning by shear stress for endothelial cells treated with tumour necrosis factor-alpha or interleukin-1beta.

The cytokines tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNFalpha) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1B) induce endothelial cells to recruit leukocytes. However, the exact adhesion and activation mechanisms induced by each cytokine, and their relative sensitivities to modulation by endothelial exposure to shear stress remain unclear. We cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in glass capillaries at various shear stresses, with TNFalpha or IL-1B added for the last 4 h. Subsequently, human neutrophils were perfused over the HUVEC, and adhesion and migration were recorded. Both cytokines induced dose-dependent capture of neutrophils. However, while conditioning of HUVEC by increasing shear stress for 24 h diminished their response to TNFalpha, the response of HUVEC to IL-1B was similar at all shear stresses. The differing sensitivities were evident at levels of adhesive function and mRNA for adhesion molecules and chemokines. Analysis of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB)/Rel family of transcription factors showed that their expression and activation were modified by exposure to shear stress, but did not obviously explain differential responses to TNFalpha and IL-1B. Antibodies against selectins were effective against capture of neutrophils on TNFalpha-treated but not IL-1B-treated HUVEC. Stable adhesion was supported by beta2-integrins in each case. Activation of neutrophils occurred dominantly through CXC-chemokine receptor 2 (CXCR2) for TNFalpha-treated HUVEC, while blockade of CXCR1, CXCR2 and of platelet-activating factor receptors caused additive inhibition of migration on IL-1B-treated HUVEC. The mechanisms which underlie neutrophil recruitment, and their modulation by the haemodynamic environment, differ between cytokines. Interventions aimed against leukocyte recruitment may not operate equally in different inflammatory milieu.

Cell Adhesion↗

PubMed2005

ANCA-induced neutrophil F-actin polymerization: implications for microvascular inflammation.

BACKGROUND: The antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-positive vasculitides are characterized by a necrotizing vasculitis of small vessels with neutrophil infiltration. The reasons behind the selectivity for small vessels remain unclear, but may relate to the necessity for neutrophils to deform in order to pass through capillaries. The resistance to deformation of neutrophils largely arises from their actin cytoskeleton. It is hypothesized that ANCA, by inducing actin polymerization, increases neutrophil rigidity and contributes to their sequestration in capillaries. METHODS: To test this hypothesis, neutrophils were treated with IgG-ANCA and the following characterizations: formation of filamentous F-actin (by flow cytometry); changes in morphology (by fluorescence and electron microscopy); and the potential to obstruct microvessels (by measuring entry times into micropipettes with comparable diameters to capillaries). The neutrophil signaling mechanisms activated by IgG-ANCA were investigated using blocking antibodies to Fcgamma receptors and inhibitors of tyrosine phosphorylation. Protein tyrosine phosphorylation was examined by immunoblotting of cell lysates, and calcium fluxes were measured by spectrofluorimetry of Fura-2 pentakis (acetoxymethyl) ester (Fura 2-AM) labeled neutrophils. RESULTS: IgG-ANCA led to a significant dose-dependent actin polymerization over about 10 minutes. Over the same period, neutrophils became distorted in shape and more resistant to micropipette aspiration. Treatment with normal IgG caused less marked and delayed changes in these parameters. Actin polymerization required engagement of FcgammaRIIa receptor, tyrosine phosphorylation, and calcium fluxes. CONCLUSION: These novel findings reveal signaling mechanisms that underlie ANCA-induced actin polymerization and might explain the predilection for small vessels in IgG-ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Actins↗

PubMed2004

ANCA induces beta2 integrin and CXC chemokine-dependent neutrophil-endothelial cell interactions that mimic those of highly cytokine-activated endothelium.

Antineutrophil cytoplasm antibodies (ANCA) activate neutrophils to undergo a series of coordinated interactions, leading to transendothelial migration, eventually culminating in vascular destruction. The molecular events underlying neutrophil recruitment in ANCA-associated vasculitis need to be defined to enable effective therapeutic manipulation. A flow-based adhesion assay was used to investigate the role of beta2 integrins (CD11a/CD18 and CD11b/CD18) and chemokine receptors [CXC chemokine receptor (CXCR)1 and CXCR2] in neutrophil migration through the endothelium. Two endothelial models were used: a highly activated model stimulated with 100 U/ml tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and a minimally activated model stimulated with 2 U/ml TNF-alpha and in which ANCA was present as a secondary neutrophil stimulus. CD11a/CD18, CD11b/CD18, and CXCR2 contributed to adhesion and transendothelial migration in both models. However, when the endothelium was minimally activated with TNF-alpha, CD11b/CD18 played an important role in stabilizing adhesion induced by ANCA immunoglobulin G (IgG). Analysis of beta2 integrins and chemokine receptors demonstrated that ANCA IgG had no effect on expression levels at the neutrophil surface but enabled an active conformational change of CD11b/CD18. Similar molecular mechanisms control neutrophil adhesion and migration through highly or minimally TNF-alpha-activated endothelium. However, the direct ANCA-mediated neutrophil stimulation is needed to drive migration through minimally activated endothelium, and CD11b/CD18 is recruited for greater stability of adhesion during this process and can undergo an activatory, conformational change in response to ANCA IgG.

Antibodies, Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic↗