We have previously shown that mouse and bovine endothelial cells express a novel 400-kDa laminin alpha chain complexed to beta1 and gamma1 laminin chains. We describe here purification of this laminin isoform from the conditioned medium of a mouse peripheral lymph node endothelial cell line, SVEC. The laminin alpha chain was isolated from the laminin complex, subjected to Edman digestion, and the amino acid sequences of the resulting peptides were determined. Amino acid sequence revealed 100% identity to the predicted amino acid sequence of the recently reported laminin alpha5 gene. A monoclonal antibody to the laminin alpha5 chain was raised (4G6), allowing investigation of its distribution in embryonic, newborn, and mature mouse tissues. The laminin alpha5 chain was expressed mainly by epithelial, endothelial, and myogenic cells: In both embryonic and mature tissues the laminin alpha5 chain was strongly expressed by epithelial cells, the bronchi of the lungs and the developing kidney tubules being the sites of strongest expression. However, laminin alpha5 was not associated with early stages of epithelial cell development, but rather with epithelial cell maturation. Widespread expression of laminin alpha5 in endothelial cells was apparent only in tissues of mature mice, its appearance correlating approximately with sexual maturity. During embryogenesis and in newborn tissues, laminin alpha5 occurred in basement membranes of larger blood vessels only, excluding a role in angiogenic processes. Smooth muscle and skeletal muscle cells were the only other cell types which showed considerable laminin alpha5 expression, with skeletal muscle exhibiting a developmentally regulated pattern of expression: The laminin alpha5 chain occurred in skeletal muscle fiber basement membranes early in embryogenesis (E13-E15) but decreased with development, remaining strongly expressed only at the neuromuscular junction. The data show that laminin alpha5 expression is associated with epithelial and endothelial cell maturation, implicating a role for this laminin chain in the maintenance of differentiated epithelial and endothelial cell phenotype.
Endothelial cells express a 400-kDa or 240-kDa laminin a chain, depending on their tissue of origin or physiological state [l, 21. Using differential display and subsequent screening of a mouse endothelial cell cDNA library we here identify the gene coding for the 240-kDa laminin chain as the laminin a4 gene. The complete mouse laminin a4 cDNA sequence is reported and compared with other laminin a chains. In situ hybridization of embryonic and new born mouse tissues revealed expression of laminin a4 mRNA in a subset of endothelium, in particular aortic endothelium, endocardium and endothelium of blood vessels in the skin and in the brain. Strong laminin a4 expression by aortic endothelia was confirmed by data obtained from cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC). Isolation of laminin from BAEC conditioned medium revealed a Y-shaped molecule in rotary shadowing. Subsequent sequencing of BAEC laminin resulted in laminin a4, pl and y l amino acid sequences, confirming that laminin a4 is one of the major laminin a chains expressed by aortic endothelium not only in the mouse. In addition, strong laminin a4 mRNA expression occurred in peripheral nerves, cardiac muscle, fat, the dermis of the skin and lung stroma of mouse tissues. The data demonstrate a cytokine and progesterone-regulated differential expression of laminin a4 mRNA in mouse endothelium, suggesting a distinct functional role for this laminin chain in endothelium.
The mechanism of adhesion of purified mouse polymorphonuclear granulocytes (PMN) to extracellular matrix proteins characteristic of basement membranes and the interstitium has been investigated and compared with the adhesion of a mouse progranulocytic cell line, 32DC13, and a mouse monocytic cell line, WEHI 78/24. All three cell types bound specifically to fibronectin and vitronectin to different degrees under different cellular activation states. 32DC13 bound to fibronectin and vitronectin strongly, and this binding increased upon cellular activation with phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) but not with formyl-Met-Leu-Phe. Only 32DC13 showed significant binding to laminin-1. By contrast, WEHI 78/24 and PMN bound only fibronectin and vitronectin; this binding was weak and was altered only marginally upon activation with PMA. In the case of WEHI 78/24, a slight increase in adhesion both to fibronectin and to vitronectin was observed after cellular activation with PMA, while PMN adhesion to both substrates was slightly reduced. The mechanism of binding to fibronectin and vitronectin was similar in the three cell types. The integrin alpha5 beta1 mediated fibronectin adhesion, demonstrating for the first time the existence of a functionally active beta1 integrin on mouse PMN. Vitronectin binding was mediated by alpha(v) beta3, as demonstrated by the ability of alpha(v)-specific cyclic L-Arg-L-Gly-L-Asp-D-Phe-L-Val (RGDfV) peptide (EMD66203), and anti-beta3 antibody to inhibit cell adhesion. 32DC13 adhesion to laminin-1 was via the alpha6 beta1 integrin. None of the three cell types tested bound to the basement membrane proteins collagen type IV and perlecan, or to the interstitial stromal constituents tenascin, collagen types I, V and VI. Interestingly, perlecan and collagen type IV were found to repel all three cell types. The relative inability of PMN, WEHI 78/24, and 32DC13 to bind to extracellular matrix proteins characteristic of basement membranes and their ability to bind inflammatory markers of the interstitium is discussed with respect to leukocyte extravasation processes.
T lymphocytes interact with components of the extracellular matrix after transendothelial migration on their way to sites of inflammation. To characterize the molecular basis of the interaction between T lymphocytes with different extracellular matrix proteins, we investigated the role of intracellular Ca2+ as a signal mediating such interactions and identified the cell surface integrins involved in this process. When Jurkat T lymphocytes loaded with the calcium-sensitive fluorescent dye fura-2 were placed on coverslips coated with human fibronectin, human collagen types I, IV, and VI, human tenascin, human laminin I, or mouse laminin I, an elevation in intracellular Ca2+ concentration was observed. In contrast, contact of the Jurkat T lymphocytes with vitronectin and thrombospondin did not induce Ca2+ signals in more cells as compared with control measurements in which cells were in contact with only BSA or polylysine. Furthermore, the percentage of Jurkat T lymphocytes responding with Ca2+ signals to collagen types I and IV, fibronectin, and laminin I was completely reduced to levels observed on BSA or polylysine when the cells were pretreated with specific anti-integrin Abs, suggesting a role for cell surface integrins as mediators of cell matrix-induced intracellular Ca2+ signaling. Similar results were obtained with peripheral human T lymphocytes activated by phytohemagglutinin.
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