New mechanisms and pathways for monocyte recruitment.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to W A Muller.
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Platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM or CD31) is a cell adhesion molecule expressed on circulating leukocytes and endothelial cells that plays an important role in mediating neutrophil and monocyte transendothelial migration in vivo. In this study, we investigated whether eosinophils, like neutrophils and monocytes, utilize PECAM for tissue recruitment to sites of allergic inflammation in vivo. Eosinophils express similar levels of PECAM as neutrophils as assessed by FACS analysis. RT-PCR studies demonstrate that eosinophils like neutrophils express the six extracellular domains of PECAM. Eosinophils exhibit homophilic binding to recombinant PECAM as assessed in a single-cell micropipette adhesion assay able to measure the biophysical strength of adhesion of eosinophils to recombinant PECAM. The strength of eosinophil adhesion to recombinant PECAM is the same as that of neutrophil binding to recombinant PECAM and can be inhibited with an anti-PECAM Ab. Although eosinophils express functional PECAM, anti-PECAM Abs did not inhibit bronchoalveolar lavage eosinophilia, lung eosinophilia, and airway hyperreactivity to methacholine in a mouse model of OVA-induced asthma in vivo. Thus, in contrast to studies that have demonstrated that neutrophil and monocyte tissue recruitment is PECAM dependent, these studies demonstrate that eosinophil tissue recruitment in vivo in this model is PECAM independent.
Vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-cadherin) is an endothelial cell-specific cadherin that plays an important role in the control of vascular organization. Blocking VE-cadherin antibodies strongly inhibit angiogenesis, and inactivation of VE-cadherin gene causes embryonic lethality due to a lack of correct organization and remodeling of the vasculature. Hence, inhibitors of VE-cadherin adhesive properties may constitute a tool to prevent tumor neovascularization. In this paper, we tested different monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) directed to human VE-cadherin ectodomain for their functional activity. Three mAbs (Cad 5, BV6, BV9) were able to increase paracellular permeability, inhibit VE-cadherin reorganization, and block angiogenesis in vitro. These mAbs could also induce endothelial cell apoptosis in vitro. Two additional mAbs, TEA 1.31 and Hec 1.2, had an intermediate or undetectable activity, respectively, in these assays. Epitope mapping studies show that BV6, BV9, TEA 1.31, and Hec 1.2 bound to a recombinant fragment spanning the extracellular juxtamembrane domains EC3 through EC4. In contrast, Cad 5 bound to the aminoterminal domain EC1. By peptide scanning analysis and competition experiments, we defined the sequences TIDLRY located on EC3 and KVFRVDAETGDVFAI on EC1 as the binding domain of BV6 and Cad 5, respectively. Overall, these results support the concept that VE-cadherin plays a relevant role on human endothelial cell properties. Antibodies directed to the extracellular domains EC1 but also EC3-EC4 affect VE-cadherin adhesion and clustering and alter endothelial cell permeability, apoptosis, and vascular structure formation.
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This article is not meant to be a comprehensive review of leukocyte migration or endothelial cell junctions. Rather, I have chosen some aspects of inflammation that might be of general interest to vascular biologists and have focused on the structural and molecular elements of the endothelial junction involved in these processes. These are all active (and some controversial) areas of investigation. I have tried to objectively present both sides of any controversies, while stating at the end the general consensus of the field.
Trafficking of antigen-specific T cells into the central nervous system (CNS) is an important initiating step in inflammation in the brain. In spite of the extensive knowledge about the role of adhesion molecules in T cell migration across peripheral vessels, the mechanism of the entry of antigen-specific T cells into the CNS is not known. This work was designed to study the regulatory roles of adhesion molecules in antigen-specific T cell migration into the CNS. Antigen-specific T cells were tracked in an in vivo migration assay using T cell receptor (TCR) transgenic mice having 95% of T cells specific for a defined antigen. pigeon cytochrome c (PCC). TCR transgenic mice were cannulated intraventricularly (IVT) for PCC antigen infusion and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sampling. Upon PCC infusion into the CNS, the number of alpha/beta TCR+ Vbeta3+ Mac1- cells in the CSF was characterized in the presence or absence of anti-adhesion molecule reagents. We found that antibodies against VCAM-1 (CD106), VLA-4 (CD49d/CD29), ICAM-1 (CD54), and LFA-1 (CD11a/CD18) did not influence the increased number of antigen-specific T cells in the CSF However, upon intravenous (i.v.) injection, anti-PECAM-1 (CD31) antibody or PECAM-Ig chimeric molecule inhibited the trafficking of alpha/beta TCR+ Vbeta3+ Mac1- cells into the CNS. The expression of PECAM-1 (CD31) was also up-regulated on antigen-specific T cells in a time-dependent manner in vitro upon antigenic stimulation. The antigen-induced activation of T cells in vivo was measured by CD44 and LFA-1 expression and found to be comparable between mPECAMIg-treated mice and wild-type serum control-treated groups. This indicates that CD31 inhibition of antigen-specific T cell accumulation in the CNS is probably not due to a functional inhibition of these cells. Finally, adoptive transfer of CFSE-labeled AND transgenic cells into naïve animals resulted in the accumulation of these cells in the CNS upon PCC IVT immunization that was also inhibited by mPECAMIg treatment. Hence, PECAM-1 (CD31) might play an important role in regulating antigen-specific T cells trafficking in CNS inflammatory diseases.
Platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 or CD31 (PECAM-1/CD31) is a receptor recognized by Plasmodium falciparum-parasitized erythrocytes (pRBCs). Fluorescence-labeled soluble recombinant PECAM-1/CD31 (sPECAM-1/CD31) is shown to bind to the surface of P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes on up to 70% of the cells. Binding is blocked by the addition of the unlabeled receptor in a dose-dependent fashion, but not by unrelated receptor-proteins. A significant correlation was found between the binding of sPECAM-1/CD31 to pRBCs and the binding to transfected L cells expressing the receptor as seen with six different P. falciparum lines or clones. Panning of cultures on PECAM-1/CD31 transfected L cells was paralleled by an increase in the binding of sPECAM-1/CD31. The pRBCs of 54% of fresh patient-isolates bound sPECAM-1/CD31 with a mean rate of 12.9% (range = 1.1-44%). The data suggest that PECAM-1/CD31 is a common receptor recognized by wild isolates and that the soluble PECAM-1/CD31 suspension assay is a sensitive and reliable way to study PECAM-1/CD31 binding.
Adaptive immune responses begin after antigen-bearing dendritic cells (DCs) traffic from peripheral tissues to lymph nodes. Here, we show that DC migration from skin to lymph nodes utilizes the leukotriene C(4) (LTC(4)) transporter multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1). DC mobilization from the epidermis and trafficking into lymphatic vessels was greatly reduced in MRP1(-/-) mice, but migration was restored by exogenous cysteinyl leukotrienes LTC(4) or LTD(4). In vitro, these cysteinyl leukotrienes promoted optimal chemotaxis to the chemokine CCL19, but not to other related chemokines. Antagonism of CCL19 in vivo prevented DC migration out of the epidermis. Thus, MRP-1 regulates DC migration to lymph nodes, apparently by transporting LTC(4), which in turn promotes chemotaxis to CCL19 and mobilization of DCs from the epidermis.
The vascular endothelial cell cadherin complex (VE-cadherin, alpha-, beta-, and gamma-catenin, and p120/p100) localizes to adherens junctions surrounding vascular endothelial cells and may play a critical role in the transendothelial migration of circulating blood leukocytes. Previously, we have reported that neutrophil adhesion to human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) monolayers, under static conditions, results in a dramatic loss of the VE-cadherin complex. Subsequent studies by us and others (Moll, T., E. Dejana, and D. Vestweber. 1998. J. Cell Biol. 140:403-407) suggested that this phenomenon might reflect degradation by neutrophil proteases released during specimen preparation. We postulated that some form of disruption of the VE-cadherin complex might, nonetheless, be a physiological process during leukocyte transmigration. In the present study, the findings demonstrate a specific, localized effect of migrating leukocytes on the VE-cadherin complex in cytokine-activated HUVEC monolayers. Monocytes and in vitro differentiated U937 cells induce focal loss in the staining of VE-cadherin, alpha-catenin, beta-catenin, and plakoglobin during transendothelial migration under physiological flow conditions. These events are inhibited by antibodies that prevent transendothelial migration and are reversed following transmigration. Together, these data suggest that an endothelial-dependent step of transient and focal disruption of the VE-cadherin complex occurs during leukocyte transmigration.
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Platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1, CD31), expressed on the surfaces of leukocytes and concentrated in the junctions between endothelial cells plays an important role in transendothelial migration of neutrophils and monocytes. Soluble recombinant PECAM-IgG injected i.v. into mice blocks acute leukocyte emigration by 80%. To study the role of PECAM in models of chronic inflammation, we generated transgenic mice constitutively expressing soluble full-length murine PECAM as an IgG chimera. Three founder lines expressed this transgene and constitutively secreted murine PECAM-IgG into the plasma where it was maintained at characteristic concentrations for each line. All mice had similar hematologic profiles to wild-type littermates and were healthy when maintained in the standard laboratory animal facility. Both the leukocytes and the endothelium of mice of all transgenic lines expressed the same levels of endogenous PECAM-1 as wild-type littermates. Similarly, there were no detectable differences in the expression of several other common leukocyte and endothelial cell adhesion molecules. Mice that produced moderate (10-20 microg/ml) concentrations of PECAM-IgG demonstrated a severely blunted acute inflammatory response, despite mobilizing appropriate numbers of circulating leukocytes. Surprisingly, mice that constitutively produced high (400-1,000 microg/ml) concentrations of PECAM-IgG were unresponsive to its anti-inflammatory effects. This is the first demonstration that a soluble form of a cell adhesion molecule can be stably expressed and retain efficacy in vivo over prolonged periods. This approach is applicable to many other extracellular molecules. However, the plasma concentrations of such constitutively produced inhibitors may greatly influence the resulting phenotype.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor Flk-1/KDR in endothelial cells is activated during vasculogenesis and angiogenesis upon ligand-receptor interaction. Activated Flk-1/KDR has been shown to recruit Src homology 2 domain-containing signaling molecules that are known to serve as links to the activation of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase signaling pathway. To define the functional significance of phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase in VEGF signaling, we have examined its role in human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) cycle progression. We show herein that p85, the regulatory subunit of PI 3-kinase, is constitutively associated with Flk-1/KDR. The treatment of HUVECs with VEGF promoted tyrosine autophosphorylation of Flk-1/KDR and also induced phosphorylation of p85. This was followed by an increase in the PI 3-kinase activity, which was sensitive to wortmannin, a potent PI 3-kinase inhibitor. VEGF also induced a striking activation of MAP kinase in a time-dependent manner. Inhibition studies with both a dominant-negative p85 mutant and the PI 3-kinase inhibitor, wortmannin, were employed to show for the first time that VEGF-stimulated PI 3-kinase modulates MAP kinase activation and nuclear events such as transcription from c-fos promoter and entry into the synthesis (S)-phase. Our data demonstrate the importance of PI 3-kinase as a necessary signaling component of VEGF-mediated cell cycle progression.
Platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1; CD31), a member of the Ig superfamily, is expressed strongly at endothelial cell-cell junctions, on platelets, and on most leukocytes. CD31 has been postulated to play a role in vasculogenesis and angiogenesis, and has been implicated as a key mediator of the transendothelial migration of leukocytes. To further define the physiologic role of CD31, we used targeted gene disruption of the CD31 gene in embryonic stem cells to generate CD31-deficient mice. CD31-deficient mice (CD31KO) are viable and born at the expected Mendelian frequency, remain healthy, and exhibit no obvious vascular developmental defects. In response to inflammatory challenge, polymorphonuclear leukocytes of CD31KO mice are arrested between the vascular endothelium and the basement membrane of inflammatory site mesenteric microvessels, confirming a role for CD31 in the migration of neutrophils through the subendothelial extracellular matrix. Normal numbers of leukocytes are recovered from inflammatory sites in CD31KO mice, however, suggesting that the defect in leukocyte migration across basal lamina observed in the absence of CD31 may be compensated for by the use of other adhesion molecules, or possibly an increased rate of migration. Homing of T lymphocytes in vivo is normal, and CD31KO mice are able to mount a cutaneous hypersensitivity response normally. In addition, CD31-mediated homophilic adhesion does not appear to play a role in platelet aggregation in vitro. This study provides genetic evidence that CD31 is involved in transbasement membrane migration, but does not play an obligatory role in either vascular development or leukocyte migration.
Passage of leukocytes across the endothelial lining into sites of inflammation has been shown to be regulated largely by platelet/endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM/CD31). We summarize recent work from our laboratory documenting that PECAM is involved both in diapedesis and the subsequent step of migration across the basal lamina. The former process involves a homophilic interaction between the amino-terminal extracellular domains of PECAM on the leukocyte and on the endothelial cell. The latter process involves a heterophilic interaction between the membrane-proximal extracellular domain of PECAM and an unknown ligand(s) in the subendothelial basal lamina. These findings are demonstrated in both in vitro and in vivo models. For monocytes, however, transmigration is just the first step in the next phase of their lives. In addition to their specific recruitment during the inflammatory response, many monocytes constitutively leave the bloodstream to enter tissues. However, only a fraction of these become tissue macrophages. In an in vitro model of monocyte emigration, approximately half of the leukocytes that initially transmigrate an endothelial monolayer migrate back out in the basal-to-apical direction within the next 2 days. This reverse transmigration cannot be blocked by anti-PECAM reagents, but involves p-glycoprotein and tissue factor expressed on the leukocytes. The reverse transmigrating cells are phenotypically dendritic cells (DC). Their maturation to mature DC can be accelerated by inclusion of inflammatory stimuli in the co-culture. The cells that remain behind in the subendothelial collagen are phenotypically macrophages. We postulate that a major source of DC in lymph nodes is cells derived from monocytes that enter a tissue via the blood and leave several days later via afferent lymphatic channels.
We investigated the differentiation and trafficking of inflammatory monocytes that phagocytosed subcutaneously injected fluorescent microspheres. As expected, most of the monocytes became microsphere+ macrophages, which remained in subcutaneous tissue. However, about 25% of latex+ cells migrated to the T cell area of draining lymph nodes, where they expressed dendritic cell (DC)-restricted markers and high levels of costimulatory molecules. Microsphere-transporting cells were distinct from resident skin DCs, and this transport was reduced by more than 85% in monocyte-deficient osteopetrotic mice. Thus, a substantial minority of inflammatory monocytes carry phagocytosed particles to lymph nodes and differentiate into DCs.
An in vitro model consisting of endothelium grown on collagen was used to investigate how mononuclear phagocytes traverse endothelium in the basal-to-apical direction (reverse transmigration), a process that mimics their migration across vascular and/or lymphatic endothelium during atherosclerosis and resolution of inflammation, respectively. Monoclonal antibody (MoAb) VIC7 against tissue factor (TF) inhibited reverse transmigration by 77%. Recombinant tissue factor fragments containing at least six amino acids C-terminal to residue 202 also strongly inhibited reverse transmigration. TF was absent on resting monocytes but was induced on these cells after initial apical-to-basal transendothelial migration. Two additional observations suggest that TF is involved in adhesion between mononuclear phagocytes and endothelium: (1) when monocytes were incubated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to stimulate expression of TF before they were added to endothelium, VIC7 or soluble TF modestly inhibited their adhesion to the apical endothelial surface, each by about 35%; and (2) endothelial cells specifically bound to surfaces coated with TF fragments containing amino acids 202-219. This binding was blocked by anti-TF MoAb, suggesting that endothelial cells bear a receptor for TF. These data suggest that mononuclear phagocytes use TF, perhaps as an adhesive protein, to exit sites of inflammation.
Essential to the dendritic cell system of antigen-presenting cells are the veiled dendritic cells that traverse afferent lymph to enter lymph nodes, where they initiate immune responses. The origin of veiled cells, which were discovered 20 years ago, is unclear. Monocytes cultured with endothelium differentiated into dendritic cells within 2 days, particularly after phagocytosing particles in subendothelial collagen. These nascent dendritic cells migrated across the endothelium in the ablumenal-to-lumenal direction, as would occur during entry into lymphatics. Monocytes that remained in the subendothelial matrix became macrophages. Therefore, monocytes have two potential fates associated with distinct patterns of migration.
P-glycoprotein (MDR-1) is a well-known transporter that mediates efflux of chemotherapeutic agents from the intracellular milieu and thereby contributes to drug resistance. MDR-1 also is expressed by nonmalignant cells, including leukocytes, but physiologic functions for MDR-1 are poorly defined. Using an initial screening assay that included >100 mAbs, we observed that neutralizing mAbs MRK16, UIC2, and 4E3 against MDR-1 specifically and potently blocked basal-to-apical transendothelial migration of mononuclear phagocytes, a process that may mimic their migration into lymphatic vessels. Antagonists of MDR-1 then were used in a model of authentic lymphatic clearance. In this model, antigen-presenting dendritic cells (DC) migrate out of explants of cultured human skin and into the culture medium via dermal lymphatic vessels. DC and T cells derived from skin expressed MDR-1 on their surfaces. Addition of anti-MDR-1 mAbs MRK16, UIC2, or the MDR-1 antagonist verapamil to skin explants at the onset of culture inhibited the appearance of DC, and accompanying T cells, in the culture medium by approximately 70%. Isotype-matched control mAbs against other DC molecules including CD18, CD31, and major histocompatibility complex I did not block. In the presence of MDR-1 antagonists, epidermal DC were retained in the epidermis, in contrast to control conditions. In summary, this work identifies a physiologic function for MDR-1 during the mobilization of DC and begins to elucidate how these critical antigen-presenting cells migrate from the periphery to lymph nodes to initiate T lymphocyte-mediated immunity.