T Cell Integrin Overexpression as a Model of Murine Autoimmunity

Neutrophil Integrins and Matrix Ligands and NET Release

Neutrophils are motile and responsive to tissue injury and infection. As neutrophils emigrate from the bloodstream and migrate toward a site of affliction, they encounter the tissue extracellular matrix (ECM) and thereby engage integrins. Our laboratory studies the neutrophilic response to the fungal pathogen Candida albicans either in the filamentous state of the microbe or to the purified pathogen-associated molecular pattern, β-glucan. We have gained an appreciation for the role of integrins in regulating the neutrophil anti-Candida response and how the presence or absence of ECM can drive experimental outcome. The β2 integrin CR3 (complement receptor 3; αMβ2; Mac-1; CD11b/CD18) plays an important role in fungal recognition by its ability to bind β-glucan at a unique lectin-like domain. The presence of ECM differentially regulates essential neutrophil anti-fungal functions, including chemotaxis, respiratory burst, homotypic aggregation, and the release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). We have shown that NET release to C. albicans hyphae or immobilized β-glucan occurs rapidly and without the requirement for respiratory burst on ECM. This is in contrast to the more frequently reported mechanisms of NETosis to other pathogens without the context of ECM, which occur after a prolonged lag period and require respiratory burst. As expected for an ECM-dependent phenotype, NETosis and other neutrophil functions are dependent on specific integrins. The focus of this review is the role of ECM ligation by neutrophil integrins as it pertains to host defense functions with an emphasis on lessons we have learned studying the anti-Candida response of human neutrophils.

A mechanism for antibody-mediated outside-in activation of LFA-1

MEM83 is an inserted domain (I-domain)-specific antibody that up-regulates the interaction of LFA-1 with ICAM-1 through an outside-in activation mechanism. We demonstrate here that there is no change in the affinity of the MEM83 antibody for the I-domain in either its low (wild-type) or high affinity form and that MEM83 does not enhance the binding of the wild-type I-domain to ICAM-1. Furthermore, we show that the antibody acts as an activating agent to induce LFA-1/ICAM-1-dependent homotypic cell aggregation only as an IgG, but not as a Fab fragment. On the basis of these data, we propose an avidity-based mechanism that requires no direct activation of the LFA-1 I-domain by the binding of the antibody; rather, activation is enhanced when there is an interaction with both arms of the IgG. A molecular model of the antibody interaction with LFA-1 illustrates the symmetry and accessibility of the two MEM83 epitopes across the LFA-1/ICAM-1 heterotetramer. We hypothesize that MEM83 stabilizes adjacent LFA-1 molecules in their active form by the free energy that is gained from the binding of the I-domains to each arm of the IgG. This leads to stabilization of the open state of the integrin and outside-in signaling. Our model supports a mechanism in which both affinity and avidity regulation are required in the activation of LFA-1.

Reversal of the TCR stop signal by CTLA-4

The coreceptor cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) is pivotal in regulating the threshold of signals during T cell activation, although the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood. Using in vitro migration assays and in vivo two-photon laser scanning microscopy, we showed that CTLA-4 increases T cell motility and overrides the T cell receptor (TCR)-induced stop signal required for stable conjugate formation between T cells and antigen-presenting cells. This event led to reduced contact periods between T cells and antigen-presenting cells that in turn decreased cytokine production and proliferation. These results suggest a fundamentally different model of reverse stop signaling, by which CTLA-4 modulates the threshold for T cell activation and protects against autoimmunity.