Faculty Bibliography

Since colchicine-sensitive microtubules regulate the expression and topography of surface glycoproteins on a variety of cells, we sought evidence that colchicine interferes with neutrophil-endothelial interactions by altering the number and/or distribution of selectins on endothelial cells and neutrophils. Extremely low, prophylactic, concentrations of colchicine (IC50 = 3 nM) eliminated the E-selectin-mediated increment in endothelial adhesiveness for neutrophils in response to IL-1 (P < 0.001) or TNF alpha (P < 0.001) by changing the distribution, but not the number, of E-selectin molecules on the surface of the endothelial cells. Colchicine inhibited stimulated endothelial adhesiveness via its effects on microtubules since vinblastine, an agent which perturbs microtubule function by other mechanisms, diminished adhesiveness whereas the photoinactivated colchicine derivative gamma-lumicolchicine was inactive. Colchicine had no effect on cell viability. At higher, therapeutic, concentrations colchicine (IC50 = 300 nM, P < 0.001) also diminished the expression of L-selectin on the surface of neutrophils (but not lymphocytes) without affecting expression of the beta 2-integrin CD11b/CD18. In confirmation, L-selectin expression was strikingly reduced (relative to CD11b/CD18 expression) on neutrophils from two individuals who had ingested therapeutic doses of colchicine. These results suggest that colchicine may exert its prophylactic effects on cytokine-provoked inflammation by diminishing the qualitative expression of E-selectin on endothelium, and its therapeutic effects by diminishing the quantitative expression of L-selectin on neutrophils

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is accompanied by acute and chronic inflammatory infiltrates associated with necrotizing granulomas in lung tissue. The cellular infiltrate is characterized by inflammatory cells which include neutrophils, lymphocytes, and macrophages. In animal and in vitro models of mycobacterial infection, cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) participate in granulomatous inflammation. We hypothesized that interleukin-3, a potent chemoattractant for neutrophils and lymphocytes, could be released by activated alveolar macrophages after exposure to M. tuberculosis or its components and contribute to granulomatous lung inflammation. A quantitative immunoassay revealed that IL-8 protein release was significantly elevated in supernatants of macrophages and in lavage fluid obtained from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis compared to normal controls. In addition, Northern blots demonstrated striking up-regulation of IL-8 mRNA in macrophages from these patients. M. tuberculosis and its cell wall components lipoarabinomannan (LAM), lipomannan (LM), and phosphoinositolmannoside (PIM) stimulated IL-8 protein release and mRNA expression in vitro from alveolar macrophages, but deacylated LAM did not. Neutralizing antibodies to TNF-alpha and/or IL-1-alpha and beta blocked 83% of the stimulation. IL-8 synthesis and release is an early response of macrophages after phagocytosis of M. tuberculosis. Its production serves to attract both acute and chronic inflammatory cells of active infection and thus participates in the process of containment of the pathogen

The host response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis is characterized by interactions between mononuclear cells, with recruitment and fusion of these cells culminating in granuloma formation. In addition, the host response to M. tuberculosis requires CD4+ T-cell reactivity, mediated by antigen-independent as well as antigen-dependent mechanisms. Thus, we hypothesized that cell adhesion molecules such as intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1; CD54) would participate in the response to infection with M. tuberculosis. Exposure of THP-1 cells derived from a monocyte/macrophage cell line to M. tuberculosis (1:1 bacterium/cell ratio) elicited a sustained increase (660% +/- 49% above resting level) in the expression of ICAM-1 that continued for at least 72 h. Neither the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1; CD106) nor that of the integrins lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1; CD11a/CD18) or CR3 (CD11b/CD18) was increased to a similar extent at corresponding time points. The increase in ICAM-1 protein expression was accompanied by an increase in steady-state mRNA (Northern [RNA] analysis). Neutralizing monoclonal antibodies directed against tumor necrosis factor alpha but not interleukin 1 alpha or interleukin 1 beta substantially abrogated the response to M. tuberculosis consistent with a paracrine or autocrine response. Continuous upregulation of the expression of ICAM-1 on mononuclear phagocytes induced by M. tuberculosis may mediate the recruitment of monocytes and enhance the antigen presentation of M. tuberculosis, thus permitting the generation and maintenance of the host response

TGF-beta isoforms regulate numerous cellular functions including cell growth and differentiation, the cellular synthesis and secretion of extracellular matrix proteins, such as fibronectin (Fn), and the immune response. We have previously shown that TGF-beta 1 is the most potent chemoattractant described for human peripheral blood neutrophils (PMNs), suggesting that TGF-beta s may play a role in the recruitment of PMNs during the initial phase of the inflammatory response. In our current studies, we demonstrate that the maximal chemotactic response was attained near 40 fM for all mammalian TGF-beta isoforms. However, there was a statistically significant difference in migratory distance of the PMNs: TGF-beta 2 (556 microM) > TGF-beta 3 (463 microM) > TGF-beta 1 (380 microM) (beta 2: beta 3, p < or = 0.010; beta 3: beta 1, p < or = 0.04; beta 2: beta 1, p < or = 0.0012). A mAb to the cell binding domain (CBD) of Fn inhibited the chemotactic response to TGF-beta 1 and TGF-beta 3 by 63% and to TGF-beta 2 by 70%, whereas the response to FMLP, a classic chemoattractant, was only inhibited by 18%. In contrast, a mAb to a C-terminal epitope of Fn did not retard migration (< 1.5%). The Arg-gly-Asp-ser tetrapeptide inhibited chemotaxis by approximately the same extent as the anti-CBD (52 to 83%). Furthermore, a mAb against the VLA-5 integrin (VLA-5; Fn receptor) also inhibited TGF-beta-induced chemotaxis. These results indicate that chemotaxis of PMNs in response to TGF-beta isoforms is mediated by the interaction of the Arg-gly-Asp-ser sequence in the CBD of Fn with an integrin on the PMN cell surface, primarily the VLA-5 integrin. TGF-beta isoforms also elicited the release of cellular Fn from PMNs; we observed a 2.3-fold increase in Fn (389 to 401 ng/ml) in the supernatants of TGF-beta-stimulated PMNs compared with unstimulated cells (173.6 ng/ml). The concentration of TGF-beta required to cause maximal release of Fn from PMNs (4000 fM) is a concentration at which TGF-beta is no longer chemotactic, suggesting that PMNs only use Fn that is constitutively expressed for migration. At higher concentrations of TGF-beta, the Fn released may accumulate basal to the cell, ultimately retarding cellular migration and modulating the chemotactic response

'Classical' chemoattractants, such as FMLP, C5a, or leukotriene B4, not only elicit directed motility but also activate neutrophils (degranulation, release of active oxygen species). Signal transduction after ligation of receptors for these classical chemoattractants is mediated by pertussis toxin (PT)-sensitive, heterotrimeric G proteins and the early production of lipid messengers via phospholipases. In contrast, we have previously shown that substance P (SP) and transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) are 'pure' chemoattractants in that they elicit chemotaxis without activating neutrophils. Paradoxically, pure chemoattractants also activate G proteins (plasmalemmal GTPase activity) without eliciting increments in cytosolic calcium ([Ca]i) and thus inositol trisphosphate. We therefore determined lipid remodeling and signal transduction in response to pure chemoattractants. Increments in plasmalemmal GTPase activated by SP (0.1 microM) and TGF-beta 1 (40 fM), like that after FMLP, were PT-sensitive (SP = 6.6 +/- 2 pm/mg/min vs SP + PT = 1.1 +/- 0.9 over basal activity; TGF-beta 1 = 4.3 +/- 1.6 vs TGF-beta 1 + PT = 2.3 +/- 0.9). In parallel, treatment of PMN with PT (1 microgram/ml, 30 min) inhibited chemotaxis (under agarose) after FMLP (2175 +/- 176 (SEM) microns vs 726 +/- 267) and SP (411 +/- 99 microns vs 103 +/- 62 microns) and TGF-beta 1 (40 fM, 375 +/- 53 microns vs 83 +/- 47). However, G proteins coupled to receptors for SP and TGF-beta 1, unlike FMLP, did not appear to be linked to phospholipases in that neither increments in diacylglycerol were detected after receptor ligation (FMLP = 152 +/- 22% resting levels; SP = 101 +/- 5%; TGF-beta 1 = 105 +/- 4%) nor was alkylacylglycerol increased by exposure to SP or TGF-beta 1 (SP = 92 +/- 4%; TGF-beta 1 = 101 +/- 8%; FMLP = 226 +/- 40%). Moreover, polymorphonuclear leukocytes failed to generate phosphatidates (PA) of either species after SP (DA-PA = 79 +/- 9% resting at 60 s; EA-PA = 103 +/- 4%) or TGF-beta 1 (DA-PA = 101 +/- 5%; EA-PA = 98 +/- 9%) in contrast to FMLP (DA-PA = 155 +/- 22%; EA-PA = 149 +/- 16%). The data clearly contravene the current dogma that all chemoattractants use inositol trisphosphate and diglycerides as intracellular signals and suggest the presence of a unique subset of PT-sensitive G proteins, not coupled to 'classical' phospholipases, transduce chemoattraction