title: Expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) by human brain microvessel endothelial cells in primary culture.
abstract: Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) is an endothelial cell membrane glycoprotein that has been implicated in leukocyte/endothelial cell interactions in inflammation. In this study, we report the expression of VCAM-1 in primary cultures of human brain microvessel endothelial cells (HBMEC) under standard conditions and following bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), or interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) treatment. Surface expression was detected and quantitated by light and immunogold electron microscopy and ELISA. Unstimulated cerebral endothelial cells (EC) constitutively expressed low levels of VCAM-1. LPS, TNF-alpha, or IL-1 beta increased the overall intensity of surface staining and the percentage of cells expressing VCAM-1 in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. LPS had the most potent effect, followed by TNF-alpha and then IL-1 beta. IFN-gamma did not upregulate VCAM-1. The level of VCAM-1 expression increased by 12-24 hr and returned to unstimulated levels by 48 hr. Immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated that VCAM-1 was preferentially localized on the apical as compared to the basal surface in both unstimulated and cytokine-treated cells. In addition, the intensity of immunostaining was significantly greater in stimulated versus unstimulated EC. The polarization and significant upregulation of VCAM-1 after cytokine treatment suggest a possible role of this adhesion molecule in inflammatory and autoimmune processes within the central nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Vancouver General Hospital, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dorovini-Zis
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply*; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016207:Cytokines; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D008833:Microcirculation; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1
chemical_list: D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D016207:Cytokines; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1