title: Liver Resident Macrophages (Kupffer Cells) Share Several Functional Antigens in Common with Endothelial Cells.
abstract: The identification and specific functions of Kupffer cells (KCs), a liver resident macrophage subpopulation, are still unclear. We compared KCs with peritoneal macrophages using cDNA microarray analysis and found that these cells share some antigens with endothelial cells. KCs highly express VCAM-1 and VEGF receptors (VEGF-Rs) at transcriptional and protein levels. VCAM-1 mediates the functional binding of KCs with lymphocytes and induces KC activation. Among the VEGF receptors, VEGF-R2 and VEGF-R3 were expressed on the KCs, while VEGF-R1 was expressed on other tissue macrophage subsets. VEGF120, a ligand of both VEGF-R1 and VEGF-R2, transduced strong survival and chemotactic signals through the KCs, when compared to PIGF, a VEGF-R1 ligand, indicating that VEGF-R2 plays significant roles in regulating KC activities. Expression of the VEGF-Rs was regulated by TLR4 signalling. These results suggest that the function of KCs is partly regulated by the common antigens shared with endothelial cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Musashino University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.affiliation: Denka Seiken Co. Ltd., Niigata, Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.affiliation: Tottori University Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Regenerative Medicine and Biofunction, Yonago, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kanki
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, College of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Denki University, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakatani
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, College of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Denki University, Saitama, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nagahara
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Musashino University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hiraga
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Musashino University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7120-3097
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Watanabe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D007728:Kupffer Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D017737:Macrophages, Peritoneal / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000276:immunology; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C493487:Tlr4 protein, mouse; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C467480:vascular endothelial growth factor A, mouse; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor