title: The low molecular weight Dextran 40 inhibits the adhesion of T lymphocytes to endothelial cells.
abstract: Dextrans are complex colloidal macromolecules widely used as haemorrheologic substances and anti-thrombotic agents. Here we describe a novel function of Dextran 40 by demonstrating an inhibition of T lymphocyte adhesion to endothelial cells (EC). We applied an established microassay in which constitutive and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)-induced binding of mouse T lymphoma cells (TK-1) to mouse endothelioma (eEND.2) cells is mediated by the interaction of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) on EC with their counter-receptors the LFA-1 heterodimer (CD11a/CD18) and VLA-4 on T cells. Dextran 40 in therapeutically achievable levels (2-32 mg/ml) reduced both constitutive and TNF-alpha-stimulated TK-1 adhesion to eEND.2. Selective preincubation of eEND.2 or TK-1 revealed that Dextran 40 acted exclusively on the T cells. To explore further the mechanisms by which Dextran 40 interfered with TK-1 adhesion, their LFA-1 and VLA-4 expression was analysed by FACS. The surface expression levels of neither receptor were affected by Dextran 40. However, confocal microscopy revealed that Dextran 40 interfered with the activation-dependent capping and clustering of LFA-1 and VLA-4 on the surface of TK-1. We conclude that Dextran 40 inhibits the capacity of TK-1 T cells to adhere to eEND.2 endothelial cells and thus may be useful for therapeutic intervention in diseases associated with enhanced T lymphocyte binding to microvascular endothelium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Termeer
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schöpf
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vanscheidt
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Simon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D003911:Dextrans / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism; D039041:Integrin alpha4beta1; D016023:Integrins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D016169:Lymphocyte Function-Associated Antigen-1 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051379:Mice; D008970:Molecular Weight; D016201:Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing / Q000096:biosynthesis; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D003911:Dextrans; D039041:Integrin alpha4beta1; D016023:Integrins; D016169:Lymphocyte Function-Associated Antigen-1; D016201:Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing