IL-13 selectively induces vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 expression in human endothelial cells.

Previous studies with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) have shown that the cytokine IL-4 induces adherence of human eosinophils, but not neutrophils, because of its ability to selectively induce surface expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1). Because the cytokine IL-13 shares a number of biologic properties with IL-4, we examined the effect of IL-13 on the expression and function of adhesion molecules on HUVEC. Incubation of HUVEC for 4 to 48 h with IL-13 (0.1 to 15 U/ml) induced surface expression of VCAM-1, as detected by indirect immunofluorescence and flow cytometry, without significantly affecting expression of E-selectin or intercellular adhesion molecule-1. The kinetics and maximal IL-13-induced expression of VCAM-1 were similar to those seen with IL-4. Treatment of HUVEC with an optimal concentration of IL-13 (15 U/ml for 24 h) induced adhesiveness for eosinophils, but not for neutrophils, and adhesion was completely inhibited by mAb recognizing VCAM-1 or alpha 4 integrin (CD49d). These results demonstrate that IL-13, like IL-4, selectively stimulates HUVEC to express functional cell surface VCAM-1 and suggest a possible role for IL-13 in promoting VCAM-1/alpha 4 integrin-dependent accumulation of eosinophils during allergic and other inflammatory reactions in vivo.

Eosinophil transendothelial migration induced by cytokines. III. Effect of the chemokine RANTES.

Selective eosinophil recruitment occurs after experimental Ag challenge and in tissue sites of allergic diseases. The mechanisms of selective eosinophil migration are still unknown. In our study, we examined the ability of chemokines to induce transendothelial migration (TEM) of eosinophils in vitro. Among the chemokines tested, only RANTES induced eosinophil TEM. RANTES failed to induce TEM of neutrophils. Interestingly, IL-8 induced neutrophil TEM and had no effect on eosinophil TEM. RANTES-induced TEM was concentration-dependent and was inhibited by Abs directed against the beta 2 integrin CD18. When IL-1-activated endothelial cells were utilized, RANTES-induced TEM also involved the eosinophil beta 1 integrin VLA-4. RANTES did not increase eosinophil adhesion to either resting or IL-1-activated endothelial cells, nor did the chemokine increase CD11b or decrease L-selectin expression. A gradient of RANTES appears to be required for eosinophil TEM. Pre-exposure of eosinophils to IL-5 dramatically potentiated the TEM response to RANTES. These findings suggest that the chemokine RANTES is a potent and selective inducer of eosinophil TEM. Because RANTES appears to be produced in vivo during allergic reactions or in allergic diseases, we speculate that these findings may have some direct relevance to the mechanism of selective eosinophil recruitment in vivo in humans.

Comparison of human eosinophil and neutrophil adhesion to endothelial cells under nonstatic conditions. Role of L-selectin.

To simulate adhesion that occurs under conditions of flow, we investigated the attachment of eosinophils to endothelium under rotational conditions. Tissue-culture plates containing monolayers of HUVEC were placed on a horizontal rotator (80 revolutions per minute (rpm)), and equal numbers of purified human eosinophils or neutrophils were added to separate wells at 4 degrees C. Binding of eosinophils and neutrophils to unstimulated endothelial cells was 15 +/- 3 and 31 +/- 11 cells/four high power fields (HPF), respectively. After preincubation of HUVEC with IL-1 beta (1 ng/ml, 4 h, 37 degrees C), adhesion increased to 56 +/- 4 and 290 +/- 26 cells/four HPF, respectively (p < 0.0002 for both, n = 8-14). Eosinophils with reduced levels of L-selectin (blood eosinophils activated in vitro or eosinophils obtained from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) performed after segmental lung allergen challenge of allergic subjects) demonstrated reduced binding under rotating conditions. Several L-selectin Abs inhibited adhesion of eosinophils and neutrophils (e.g., LAM1-3: 43 +/- 14% vs 63 +/- 3% inhibition; LAM1-6: 73 +/- 5% vs 36 +/- 6% inhibition, respectively, n > or = 6). Interestingly, one additional L-selectin Ab, LAM1-11, inhibited eosinophil but not neutrophil adhesion (51 +/- 2% vs 1 +/- 7% inhibition, respectively, n > or = 5). We conclude that eosinophils, like neutrophils, use L-selectin to bind to activated endothelial cells under conditions of flow, although mAb LAM1-11 can selectively inhibit eosinophil attachment to stimulated endothelial cells in vitro, suggesting different functional epitopes on L-selectin among eosinophils and neutrophils.

Measurement and characterization of free radical generation in reoxygenated human endothelial cells.

The endothelial cell is thought to be an important site of free radical generation in ischemic tissues. It has been demonstrated that endothelial cells from several species generate a burst of free radical generation upon reoxygenation; however, it has been suggested that human endothelial cells are not similarly capable of generating free radicals on reoxygenation. In view of the central importance of revascularization with accompanying reoxygenation in the clinical treatment of tissue ischemia/infarction, we have performed studies to determine the presence, mechanism, and kinetics of free radical generation in human endothelial cells. Therefore, we subjected cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells to anoxia followed by reoxygenation. Cell suspensions of 10(7) cells/ml were subjected to varying periods of anoxia and reoxygenation. On reoxygenation with addition of a 50 mM concentration of the spin trap 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO), after 90 min of anoxia an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) signal was observed consisting of 2 components: a quartet 1:2:2:1 DMPO-OH signal, aN = aH = 14.9 G, and a six-peaked DMPO-R signal, aN = 15.6 G aH = 22.9 G, whereas cells in air gave no signal. The observed signal was quenched by superoxide dismutase (SOD) or catalase. Deferoxamine decreased the measured radical signals by 40%. Cyclooxygenase blockers did not decrease radical generation, but the xanthine oxidase blocker oxypurinol did decrease radical generation by 60%.

IL-4 induces adherence of human eosinophils and basophils but not neutrophils to endothelium. Association with expression of VCAM-1.

The present studies were performed to explore potentially selective mechanisms of leukocyte adhesion in an attempt to understand how preferential recruitment of eosinophils and basophils might occur during allergic and other inflammatory reactions. Stimulation of human vascular endothelial cells for 24 h with IL-4 (30 to 1,000 U/ml) induced adhesion for eosinophils (up to approximately four-fold of control) and basophils (up to approximately twofold of control) but not neutrophils (less than 125% of control). Analysis of endothelial expression of adhesion molecules by flow cytometry revealed that IL-4 treatment induced vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression without significantly affecting the expression of other adhesion molecules, namely endothelial-leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 (ELAM-1) or intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). The concentration-response curve for IL-4-induced VCAM-1 expression paralleled that for adhesion. Endothelial cells stimulated with IL-4 expressed adhesive properties for eosinophils by 3 h; the response increased steadily during a 24-h time course study. Eosinophils and basophils adhered to plates coated with a recombinant form of VCAM-1. This adhesion was blocked with antibodies to VCAM-1 but not ELAM-1. mAb directed against either VCAM-1 or VLA-4 inhibited (by approximately 75%) the binding of eosinophils and basophils to IL-4-stimulated endothelial cells. Because VLA-4 and VCAM-1 have been demonstrated to bind to each other in other adhesion systems, these results suggest that IL-4 stimulates eosinophil and basophil adhesion by inducing endothelial cell expression of VCAM-1 which binds to eosinophil and basophil VLA-4. The lack of expression of VLA-4 on neutrophils and the failure of IL-4 to stimulate neutrophil adherence support this conclusion. It is proposed that local release of IL-4 in vivo in allergic diseases or after experimental allergen challenge may partly explain the enrichment of eosinophils and basophils (vs neutrophils) observed in these situations.

Adhesion of human basophils, eosinophils, and neutrophils to interleukin 1-activated human vascular endothelial cells: contributions of endothelial cell adhesion molecules.

Cytokines such as interleukin 1 (IL-1) promote adhesiveness in human umbilical vein endothelial cells for leukocytes including basophils, eosinophils, and neutrophils, and induce expression of adherence molecules including ICAM-1 (intercellular adhesion molecule-1), ELAM-1 (endothelial-leukocyte adhesion molecule-1), and VCAM-1 (vascular cell adhesion molecule-1). In the present study, blocking monoclonal antibodies (mAb) recognizing ICAM-1, ELAM-1, and VCAM-1 have been used to compare their roles in IL-1-induced adhesion of human basophils, eosinophils, and neutrophils. IL-1 treatment of endothelial cell monolayers for 4 hours induced a four- to eight-fold increase in adhesion for each cell type. Treatment of endothelial cells with either anti-ICAM-1 or anti-ELAM-1 mAb inhibited IL-1-induced adherence of each cell type. In contrast, treatment with anti-VCAM-1 mAb inhibited basophil and eosinophil (but not neutrophil) adhesion, and was especially effective in blocking eosinophil adhesion. The effects of these mAb were at least additive. Indirect immunofluorescence and flow cytometry demonstrated expression of VLA-4 alpha (very late activation antigen-4 alpha, a counter-receptor for VCAM-1) on eosinophils and basophils but not on neutrophils. These data document distinct roles for ICAM-1, ELAM-1, and VCAM-1 during basophil, eosinophil, and neutrophil adhesion in vitro, and suggest a novel mechanism for the recruitment of eosinophils and basophils to sites of inflammation in vivo.

IL-3 augments adhesiveness for endothelium and CD11b expression in human basophils but not neutrophils.

A number of natural and recombinant human cytokines have been tested for their ability to activate basophil and neutrophil adhesiveness for human umbilical vein endothelial cells in vitro. Coincubation of basophils and endothelial cell monolayers for 10 min with biologically relevant concentrations of rIL-1, natural IL-2, rIL-4, rIL-5, rIL-6, rIL-8, rGM-CSF, and rIFN-gamma had no effect on basophil adhesiveness. In contrast, rIL-3 induced basophil adhesiveness for endothelial cells (optimal at 1 ng/ml: 144 +/- 18% of control adherence (mean +/- SEM); control basophil binding, 13 +/- 3%, n = 9, p less than or equal to 0.05). This increase in adhesiveness was similar in magnitude to that induced by an optimal concentration of a known potent inducer of basophil adhesiveness (1 microM FMLP, 164 +/- 15% of control adherence, n = 9). Under these experimental conditions, the effects of rIL-3 occurred at concentrations of 0.1 to 30 ng/ml, were partially dependent on calcium, and were not accompanied by histamine release. Fixation experiments demonstrated that the effect of rIL-3 was directed against the basophil rather than the endothelial cell. Neither rIL-3 nor the other cytokines tested had any effect on the adherence of 51Cr-labeled neutrophils, even when tested simultaneously on cells from the same donors. Under experimental conditions that permitted histamine release, no correlation was seen between the ability of rIL-3 (0.3 to 300 ng/ml) to induce histamine release or enhance adhesiveness (n = 8). mAb blocking experiments demonstrated a role for both CD11 and CD18 adherence glycoproteins in basophil adherence induced by rIL-3, and indirect immunofluorescence and flow cytometric analysis revealed that rIL-3 treatment led to rapid and sustained increases in cell surface expression of CD11b antigens on basophils but not neutrophils (e.g., after 10 min: 217 +/- 29 vs 91 +/- 11% of control mean fluorescence intensity, p less than 0.05). However, no correlation was seen between the magnitude of changes in CD11b expression and changes in adhesion when tested simultaneously. These results suggest that local production of IL-3 during allergic reactions in vivo may selectively promote basophil activation, adhesion to endothelium, and recruitment to extravascular sites of inflammation.