Adhesion of lymphoid cells to fibroblasts in tissue culture

Adhesion and transcellular migration of neutrophils and B lymphocytes on fibroblasts

During tissue inflammation, infiltrated leukocytes may have physical contacts with fibroblasts. We observed that neutrophils and B lymphocytes adhered in a larger proportion than T cells on cultured fibroblasts. Microscopy showed that adhesion was also characterized by leukocyte engulfment by the fibroblasts. In migration assays, only neutrophils and B lymphocytes were selectively able to migrate through a fibroblast barrier. Adhesion and migration were increased by stimulation with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA). Antibodies against ICAM-1/beta2 integrin blocked the interaction of neutrophils to fibroblasts. For B lymphocytes the couple VCAM-1/alpha4 integrin was also involved in this interaction. Human skin fibroblasts presented similar adhesion characteristics as rat cardiac fibroblasts. By measuring the distance between the border of migration holes and cadherin-positive adherens junctions, more than 65% of the holes correspond to the transcellular route over the paracellular route. Furthermore, vimentin staining revealed that the migration holes were highly nested by intermediate filaments in accordance with the transcellular route. Our results demonstrated that engulfment of neutrophils and B lymphocytes by fibroblasts resulted in selective passage by a transcellular route.

CD11b/CD18-dependent interactions of neutrophils with intestinal epithelium are mediated by fucosylated proteoglycans

CD11b/CD18-mediated adhesive interactions play a key role in regulating polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN)) migration across intestinal epithelium. However, the identity of epithelial ligands for migrating PMN remains obscure. In this study we investigated the role of carbohydrates in mediating adhesive interactions between T84 intestinal epithelial cells and CD11b/CD18 purified from PMN. Fucoidin, heparin/heparin sulfate, N-acetyl-D-glucosamine, mannose-6-phosphate, and laminarin were found to inhibit adhesion of T84 cells to CD11b/CD18. The most potent inhibitory effects were observed with fucoidin (50% inhibition at 1-5 x 10(-8) M). Binding assays demonstrated that fucoidin directly bound to CD11b/CD18 in a divalent cation- and sulfation-dependent fashion that was blocked by anti-CD11b mAbs. Experiments employing CD11b/CD18 as a probe to blot T84 cell fucosylated proteins purified via fucose-specific lectin column revealed several candidate CD11b/CD18 binding proteins with molecular masses of 95, 50, 30, 25, and 20 kDa. Fucosidase treatment of T84 cells resulted in significantly reduced cell adhesion to CD11b/CD18, while no inhibition was observed after neuraminidase treatment. Finally, significant inhibition of T84 cell adhesion to CD11b/CD18 was observed after blocking cell proteoglycan synthesis with p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-xylopyranoside. These findings implicate epithelial cell surface proteoglycans decorated with sulfated fucose moieties as ligands for CD11b/CD18 during PMN migration across mucosal surfaces.

Natural killer cells activate human dermal fibroblasts

Human dermal fibroblasts (HDF) undergo activation and secrete cytokines when cocultured with T cells. Here, we identify potent activators of HDF among human peripheral CD2(+)-lymphocytes. Populations with strong HDF activating capacity consisted essentially of cells with a natural killer (NK) surface marker phenotype (CD3(-), CD4(-), CD8(-), CD56(+)). Addition of these cells to HDF resulted in rapid increase of intracellular free calcium concentrations as an early rapid cell activation signal. Upregulation of mRNA encoding for the inflammatory cytokines IL-1 beta and IL-6 as well as for chemokines IL-8 and MCP-1 was detected after cells were cocultured. Elevated concentrations of IL-6 and IL-8 were found in coculture supernatants of HDF and NK-cells. Skin-homing NK cells leaving the blood-stream during an inflammatory skin reaction might therefore represent potent activators of local inflammatory cytokine and chemokine production.

Responsiveness of human T lymphocytes to bacterial superantigens presented by cultured rheumatoid arthritis synoviocytes

OBJECTIVE

Type B fibroblastic synoviocytes are abundant in inflamed joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and can secrete cytokines and other mediators of inflammation. The aim of this study was to determine whether cell lines derived from RA type B synoviocytes could also serve as accessory cells for T lymphocyte activation.

METHODS

Cells from RA synoviocyte lines, with or without preculture in interferon-gamma (IFN gamma), were cultured with purified peripheral blood T cells, in the presence or absence of superantigens or other accessory cell-dependent T cell mitogens. T cell proliferation was measured by thymidine incorporation, and synoviocyte surface markers were analyzed by flow cytometry.

RESULTS

RA type B synoviocyte lines were potent accessory cells for T cell responses to bacterial superantigens or lectins, and direct cell-cell contact was required. Preculture in IFN gamma augmented synoviocyte expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules and of ligands for some T cell costimulatory receptors, but synoviocyte accessory cell function was evident even in the absence of IFN gamma. Blocking studies using monoclonal antibodies supported the notion of a role CD2, CD11a/CD18 and MHC class II molecules in synoviocyte-dependent T cell activation. Monoclonal antibodies against IFN gamma, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor alpha failed to block the T cell proliferative responses, but anti-IL-2 was strongly inhibitory.

CONCLUSION

Cultured RA and type B synoviocytes can perform some of the functions of professional antigen-presenting cells. If such cells have similar properties in vivo, they may be important participants in activation of immune responses, in addition to their previously described synthetic and proinflammatory roles. If RA synovial tissue T cells, like normal peripheral blood T cells, can respond to superantigens presented by synoviocytes, this interaction could be important in the pathogenesis of RA.

Adhesion of normal and neoplastic lymphoid cells to fibroblasts

Adhesion between lymphocytes and other cells is critical to many processes in the normal immune system. Alteration in the expression of cell adhesion molecules may be important in determining the behaviour of malignant lymphomas. In this study, the adhesion of normal lymphocytes to fibroblasts is compared with the adhesion of the T-cell lymphomas J6 and Hut 78 ICRF. J6 was significantly more adherent to fibroblasts than either Hut78 or PBL despite the fact that J6 expresses almost no LFA-1. Anti-LFA-1 had little effect on the basal adhesion of Hut78 ICRF or PBL. Addition of anti-CD2 caused enhanced adhesion of J6 and PBL but not Hut78 ICRF, which expresses little of this molecule. This enhancement was abrogated by anti-LFA-1. Anti-CD45 also caused enhanced adhesion of PBL. This was largely due to LFA-1-mediated homotypic cell adhesion. The tumour cell lines display no such homotypic adhesion and the small enhancement of fibroblast adhesion was much less affected by the anti-LFA-1 antibody. These results show the complex interactions which occur between adhesion molecules and that differences in patterns of expression between normal and neoplastic cells could be a major determinant of tumour cell behaviour.

The activation of resting lymphocytes is accompanied by the biogenesis of lysosomal organelles

The degradative activity of lymphocytes plays by important role in a number of essential immune functions. In the present study we have examined how the activation of resting lymphocytes, by the mitogen concanavalin A (Con A), affects three major components of the lysosomal compartment: the lysosomal enzyme beta-glucuronidase (Gus); an integral lysosomal membrane protein (LAMP-1); and the mannose 6-phosphate receptor (MPR) which directs lymphocyte enzyme transport. Resting T cells were found to contain only very low levels of these proteins, but they were actively synthesized by, and far more abundant in, stimulated lymphoblasts. Although the lysosomal antigens did not have a distinct cytoplasmic localization in the resting lymphocytes, in the activated T lymphoblasts they were present in several highly developed intracellular structures, including the rough endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi complex. Furthermore, in these latter cells Gus was also found to be accumulated within the lumen of large vesicles which we characterized as lysosomes by the presence of LAMP-1 at the periphery and by the absence of MPR. Subcellular fractionation confirmed that these organelles were present in the activated lymphocytes only, and not in the resting T cells. Our results demonstrate that lymphocyte activation is accompanied by the synthesis of the enzymic and structural components of the lysosomal compartment which are sorted and assembled into distinct organelles in the activated cell.

Expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) on human thyroid cells lines correlated with their binding of lymphoblasts

We have investigated the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) by novel functional human thyroid cell lines (designated SGHTL). ICAM-1 is constitutively expressed and it is rapidly upregulated in response to each of the recombinant cytokines: gamma-interferon, interleukin-1 and tumour necrosis factor. This contrasts with the more slowly increased expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigens in response to gamma-interferon alone. We have also demonstrated binding of activated lymphocytes to SGHTL cells: this interaction is increased following treatment with these cytokines and is inhibited by monoclonal antibodies directed against ICAM-1 or lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) but not by antibodies against CD2 or MHC class II antigens. Hence, we conclude that the binding of lymphoblasts to human thyroid cells involves an LFA-1- and ICAM-1-dependent pathway as well as other basal and cytokine-inducible pathway(s). These do not appear to involve MHC class II antigens, CD2 or an LFA-1 ligand other than ICAM-1.