Role of β2 Integrins in the Binding of Thymocytes to Rat Thymic Macrophages

A role of β2 integrins and one of their ligands, ICAM-1, in thymic macrophage (TMF)/thymocyte interactions was studied. TMF were isolated as adherent cells from 4-day old culture of thymic-cell suspensions either from normal or hydrocortisone-treated rats. Adherent cells were 94-98% positive with ED1 (a pan-macrophage marker). The majority of them (75-95%) expressed the CD11b and CD18 molecules, and 60-70% expressed CD54 (ICAM-1). A low proportion of TMF (10-20%) expressed CDlla (LFA-1). The expression of all these antigens was upregulated by IFN-α and TNF-α. The effect of these mAbs on TMF/thymocyte binding was studied using a simple rosette assay by incubating unstimulated or IFN-γ or TNF-α stimulated TMF, grown on microscopic slides with resting or ConA +IL-2 activated thymocytes. It was found that LFA-1/CD18 and ICAM-1 play a significant role in the TMF/thymocyte adhesion. In addition, a LFA-l-dependent/ICAM- 1-independent adhesion pathway was observed, suggesting that LFA-1 might use another ligand. The inhibitory effect of anti-CD18 mAb (WT-3) was higher than the effect of anti-LFA-1 mAb (WT-1) and was a consequence of blocking the CD18 chain both on thymocytes and TMF. No significant difference in the expression and function of adhesion molecules was found between TMF obtained from normal or hydrocortisone-treated rats. The involvement of CD1 1b in these processes was of lesser importance than the role of the CD11a molecule. By using mAbs to different epitopes of the CD11b molecule, such as OX-42 (anti-CD11b/CD11c), ED7, and ED8 (anti-CD11b), it was found that they were either slightly or moderately inhibitory under certain experimental conditions or did not significantly modulate TMF/thymocyte binding. Oχ-42 was slightly stimulatory in some experiments. Cumulatively, these results show that 2 integrins play a significant role in TMF/thymocyte interactions and probably contribute to T-cell development in vivo

Mechanisms Involved in the Binding of Thymocytes to Rat Thymic Dendritic Cells

The effects of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to cell-surface molecules, divalent cations, and various cell-signaling and metabolic inhibitors on the binding of thymocytes to rat thymic dendritic cells (TDC) were studied using a rosette assay. It was found that TDC/thymocyte adhesion was stronger and faster at 37°C than at 4°C. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that bound thymocytes were predominantly CD4+CD8+ and CD4+CD8-, but in comparison to the phenotype of whole thymocytes, they were enriched in the mature TCRαβhi subset. The binding of thymocytes to TDC at 37°C was almost completely dependent on Ca2+ and Mg2+ and partly on an intact cytoskeleton and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase. The adhesion was independent of new protein synthesis and the activities of protein kinases A and C, tyrosine kinases, as well as phosphotyrosine protein phosphatases. The TDC/thymocyte adhesion at 37°C was partly blocked by anti-LFA-1 (WT.1), anti-CD18 (WT.3), and anti-ICAM-1 (1A29) mAb. MAbs to class II MHC (OX-3 and OX-6), CD4 (W3/25), CD8 (OX-8), and αβTCR (R73) stimulated the adhesion via an LFA-1-dependent pathway, whereas an anti-CD45 mAb (G3C5) stimulated the rosette formation independently of LFA-1. MAbs to CD2 (OX-34), CD11b (ED7), CD11b/c (OX-42), and class I MHC (OX-18) were without significant effects on the adhesion process

Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 induction: A sensitive and quantitative marker for cardiac allograft rejection

ObjectivesRats with abdominal heterotopic heart transplants were studied to determine whether cardiac allograft rejection could be assessed by immunoscintigraphy targeting intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), which was induced on allografted organ cells in association with rejection.BackgroundIt is important to detect early rejection before development of myocyte necrosis. Although a variety of methods for the detection of cardiac rejection have been investigated, histologic inspection of biopsied samples is still used routinely for clinical diagnosis of rejection.MethodsDA rat (RT-1a) hearts were transplanted into PVG rats (RT-1c). Immunohistologic examination of the allografts demonstrated that ICAM-1 induction on vascular endothelial cells was observed as early as 4 days after transplantation in this combination. Thirty-nine allografted rats and seven isografted rats were studied. One day after injection of 100 μCi of 111Inlabeled anti—ICAM-1 monoclonal antibody (1A29), planar images were obtained.ResultsRejecting allografts showed increased radiotracer uptake and could be identified on the images as early as 5 days after transplantation. In contrast, nonrejecting cardiac allografts and isografts did not show specific uptake. Mildly rejecting allografts, with mononuclear cell infiltration but without significant myocyte necrosis, could be scintigraphically identified, and the level of radiotracer uptake reflected the histologic severity of rejection. Accumulation of 111In-labeled monoclonal antibody of isotypematched irrelevant specificity was not detected in the rejecting allografts.ConclusionsThese data indicate that ICAM-1 induction can be assessed quantitatively by radioimmunoscintigraphy. Radioimmunoscintigraphy is a sensitive method for early detection and assessment of cardiac allograft rejection