Supplementary Material for: Processing of Laminin α Chains Generates Peptides Involved in Wound Healing and Host Defense

Laminins play a fundamental role in basement membrane architecture and function in human skin. The C-terminal laminin G domain-like (LG) modules of laminin α chains are modified by proteolysis to generate LG1-3 and secreted LG4-5 tandem modules. In this study, we provide evidence that skin-derived cells process and secrete biologically active peptides from the LG4-5 module of the laminin α3, α4 and α5 chain in vitro and in vivo. We show enhanced expression and processing of the LG4-5 module of laminin α3 in keratinocytes after infection and in chronic wounds in which the level of expression and further processing of the LG4-5 module correlated with the speed of wound healing. Furthermore, bacterial or host-derived proteases promote processing of laminin α3 LG4-5. On a functional level, we show that LG4-5-derived peptides play a role in wound healing. Moreover, we demonstrate that LG4-derived peptides from the α3, α4 and α5 chains have broad antimicrobial activity and possess strong chemotactic activity to mononuclear cells. Thus, the data strongly suggest a novel multifunctional role for laminin LG4-5-derived peptides in human skin and its involvement in physiological processes and pathological conditions such as inflammation, chronic wounds and skin infection

Acute mental stress drives vascular inflammation and promotes plaque destabilization in mouse atherosclerosis

Aims Mental stress substantially contributes to the initiation and progression of human disease, including cardiovascular conditions. We aim to investigate the underlying mechanisms of these contributions since they remain largely unclear.Methods and results Here, we show in humans and mice that leucocytes deplete rapidly from the blood after a single episode of acute mental stress. Using cell-tracking experiments in animal models of acute mental stress, we found that stress exposure leads to prompt uptake of inflammatory leucocytes from the blood to distinct tissues including heart, lung, skin, and, if present, atherosclerotic plaques. Mechanistically, we found that acute stress enhances leucocyte influx into mouse atherosclerotic plaques by modulating endothelial cells. Specifically, acute stress increases adhesion molecule expression and chemokine release through locally derived norepinephrine. Either chemical or surgical disruption of norepinephrine signalling diminished stress-induced leucocyte migration into mouse atherosclerotic plaques.Conclusion Our data show that acute mental stress rapidly amplifies inflammatory leucocyte expansion inside mouse atherosclerotic lesions and promotes plaque vulnerability.[GRAPHICS]This study provides novel mechanistic insights into how acutemental stress fuels vascular inflammation and promotes plaque rupture. EC, endothelial cells; HPA, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis; MACS, macrophages; SAM, sympathetic-adrenal-medullary axis

Heterocomplexes between the atypical chemokine MIF and the CXC-motif chemokine CXCL4L1 regulate inflammation and thrombus formation

To fulfil its orchestration of immune cell trafficking, a network of chemokines and receptors developed that capitalizes on specificity, redundancy, and functional selectivity. The discovery of heteromeric interactions in the chemokine interactome has expanded the complexity within this network. Moreover, some inflammatory mediators, not structurally linked to classical chemokines, bind to chemokine receptors and behave as atypical chemokines (ACKs). We identified macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) as an ACK that binds to chemokine receptors CXCR2 and CXCR4 to promote atherogenic leukocyte recruitment. Here, we hypothesized that chemokine–chemokine interactions extend to ACKs and that MIF forms heterocomplexes with classical chemokines. We tested this hypothesis by using an unbiased chemokine protein array. Platelet chemokine CXCL4L1 (but not its variant CXCL4 or the CXCR2/CXCR4 ligands CXCL8 or CXCL12) was identified as a candidate interactor. MIF/CXCL4L1 complexation was verified by co-immunoprecipitation, surface plasmon-resonance analysis, and microscale thermophoresis, also establishing high-affinity binding. We next determined whether heterocomplex formation modulates inflammatory/atherogenic activities of MIF. Complex formation was observed to inhibit MIF-elicited T-cell chemotaxis as assessed by transwell migration assay and in a 3D-matrix-based live cell-imaging set-up. Heterocomplexation also blocked MIF-triggered migration of microglia in cortical cultures in situ, as well as MIF-mediated monocyte adhesion on aortic endothelial cell monolayers under flow stress conditions. Of note, CXCL4L1 blocked binding of Alexa-MIF to a soluble surrogate of CXCR4 and co-incubation with CXCL4L1 attenuated MIF responses in HEK293-CXCR4 transfectants, indicating that complex formation interferes with MIF/CXCR4 pathways. Because MIF and CXCL4L1 are platelet-derived products, we finally tested their role in platelet activation. Multi-photon microscopy, FLIM-FRET, and proximity-ligation assay visualized heterocomplexes in platelet aggregates and in clinical human thrombus sections obtained from peripheral artery disease (PAD) in patients undergoing thrombectomy. Moreover, heterocomplexes inhibited MIF-stimulated thrombus formation under flow and skewed the lamellipodia phenotype of adhering platelets. Our study establishes a novel molecular interaction that adds to the complexity of the chemokine interactome and chemokine/receptor-network. MIF/CXCL4L1, or more generally, ACK/CXC-motif chemokine heterocomplexes may be target structures that can be exploited to modulate inflammation and thrombosis. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00018-022-04539-0