Keywords: Blood-brain barrier r CD4 + effector/memory T (T EM ) cells r Diapedesis r EAE r ICAM-1Additional supporting information may be found in the online version of this article at the publisher's web-site

Dendritic cell (DC) migration via lymphatic vessels to draining lymph nodes (dLNs) is crucial for the initiation of adaptive immunity. We imaged this process by intravital microscopy (IVM) in the ear skin of transgenic mice bearing redfluorescent vasculature and yellowfluorescent DCs. DCs within lymphatic capillaries were rarely transported by flow, but actively migrated within lymphatics and were significantly faster than in the interstitium. Pharmacologic blockade of the Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK), which mediates nuclear contraction and de-adhesion from integrin ligands, significantly reduced DC migration from skin to dLNs in steady-state. IVM revealed that ROCK blockade strongly reduced the velocity of interstitial DC migration, but only marginally affected intralymphatic DC migration. By contrast, during tissue inflammation, ROCK blockade profoundly decreased both interstitial and intralymphatic DC migration. Inhibition of intralymphatic migration was paralleled by a strong up-regulation of ICAM-1 in lymphatic endothelium, suggesting that during inflammation ROCK mediates de-adhesion of DC-expressed integrins from lymphatic-expressed ICAM-1. Flow chamber assays confirmed an involvement of lymphatic-expressed ICAM-1 and DC-expressed ROCK in DC crawling on lymphatic endothelium. Overall, our findings further define the role of ROCK in DC migration to dLNs and reveal a differential requirement for ROCK in intralymphatic DC crawling during steadystate and inflammation. (Blood. 2012; 120(11):2249-2258) IntroductionDendritic cells (DCs) are important in the initiation of adaptive immune responses. In peripheral tissues, such as the skin, DCs take up antigen, mature, and migrate via lymphatic vessels (LVs) to draining lymph nodes (dLNs), where they present antigen to resting T cells. Although this migration pattern has been known for more than 20 years, 1 DC migration into LVs is only now starting to be unraveled at the cellular level using live imaging technologies. [2][3][4] Before transmigrating across the lymphatic endothelium, DCs first need to squeeze through preformed, narrow pores present in the lymphatic basement membrane (BM). 3 DC entry into LVs is thought to occur at the level of primary lymphatic capillaries, which feature discontinuous cell junctions with "button"-like accumulations of cell adhesion molecules. 5 At the sites of such buttons, lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) partially overlap and generate open flaps, through which leukocytes enter into lymphatics. 3,5 The most prominent mediator of DC migration into afferent lymphatics is CCL21, a chemokine constitutively expressed in LVs. 6,7 More recently, also other LEC-expressed molecules that mediate DC migration via LVs to dLNs have been identified. [8][9][10][11] Notably, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, which are up-regulated in LVs during inflammation, 8,12 have been implicated in this process. 8 Intriguingly, experiments performed with pan-integrin knockout DCs revealed that DC migration to dLNs in steady-state was integrin-independent. 2 This ...

Activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM) is a cell adhesion molecule found on blood-brain barrier endothelial cells (BBB-ECs) that was previously shown to be involved in leukocyte transmigration across the endothelium. In the present study, we found that ALCAM knockout (KO) mice developed a more severe myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) 35-55 -induced experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The exacerbated disease was associated with a significant increase in the number of CNS-infiltrating proinflammatory leukocytes compared with WT controls. Passive EAE transfer experiments suggested that the pathophysiology observed in active EAE was linked to the absence of ALCAM on BBB-ECs. In addition, phenotypic characterization of unimmunized ALCAM KO mice revealed a reduced expression of BBB junctional proteins. Further in vivo, in vitro, and molecular analysis confirmed that ALCAM is associated with tight junction molecule assembly at the BBB, explaining the increased permeability of CNS blood vessels in ALCAM KO animals. Collectively, our data point to a biologically important function of ALCAM in maintaining BBB integrity. multiple sclerosis | ALCAM | blood-brain barrier | EAE | tight junctions

Employing live cells as therapeutics is a direction of future drug discovery. An easy and robust method to modify the surfaces of cells directly to incorporate novel functionalities is highly desirable. However, genetic methods for cell-surface engineering are laborious and limited by low efficiency for primary cell modification. Here we report a chemoenzymatic approach that exploits a fucosyltransferase to transfer bio-macromolecules, such as an IgG antibody (MW∼ 150 KD), to the glycocalyx on the surfaces of live cells when the antibody is conjugated to the enzyme’s natural donor substrate GDP-Fucose. Requiring no genetic modification, this method is fast and biocompatible with little interference to cells’ endogenous functions. We applied this method to construct two antibody–cell conjugates (ACCs) using both cell lines and primary cells, and the modified cells exhibited specific tumor targeting and resistance to inhibitory signals produced by tumor cells, respectively. Remarkably, Herceptin-NK-92MI conjugates, a natural killer cell line modified with Herceptin, exhibit enhanced activities to induce the lysis of HER2+ cancer cells both ex vivo and in a human tumor xenograft model. Given the unprecedented substrate tolerance of the fucosyltransferase, this chemoenzymatic method offers a general approach to engineer cells as research tools and for therapeutic applications.

Activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM) has been proposed to mediate leukocyte migration across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in multiple sclerosis or experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). Here, we confirmed vascular ALCAM expression in human brain tissue samples in situ and on two different human in vitro BBB models. Antibody-mediated inhibition of ALCAM reduced diapedesis of human CD4 Th1 but not of Th17 cells across the human BBB in vitro. In accordance to human Th1 cells, mouse Th1 cells showed reduced diapedesis across an ALCAM in vitro BBB model under static but no longer under flow conditions. In contrast to the limited role of ALCAM in T cell extravasation across the BBB, we found a contribution of ALCAM to rolling, adhesion, and diapedesis of human CD14 monocytes across the human BBB under flow and static conditions. Taken together, our study highlights the potential differences in the CNS expression of ALCAM in mouse and human and supports a prominent role for ALCAM in the multi-step extravasation of monocytes across the BBB.