CD11/CD18-independent transendothelial migration of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes and monocytes: Involvement of distinct and unique mechanisms

Monocytes and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) migrate across cytokine (interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor) activated endothelium or unstimulated endothelium in response to chemotactic factors in vitro and in vivo utilizing the CD11/CD18 (i.e., β₂ integrin) adhesion molecule complex. However, in vivo studies have suggested that under some conditions and/or in certain tissues, leukocyte migration can also proceed via CD11/CD18-independent mechanisms. Here we compared adhesion mechanisms involved in the migration of ⁵¹Cr-labeled blood monocytes and PMNLs across human umbilical vein endothelium (HUVE) monolayers. We observed that monocyte transendothelial migration was not inhibited by monoclonal antibody (mAb) to CD18, when the HUVE was activated with IL-1, and the chemotactic factor C5a induced the migration. This CD18-independent monocyte migration was blocked by treatment of the monocyte with mAb to β₁ or α₄ integrin, suggesting that very late activation antigen 4 (VLA-4) on the monocyte served as the alternative migration mechanism. In contrast to monocytes, mAb to CD18 inhibited PMNL migration to C5a across IL-1-activated HUVE, but only by 66%, significantly less than with C5a alone (84%) or IL-1-activated HUVE alone (95%). The migration of anti-CD18 mAb-treated PMNLs was not inhibited by function-blocking mAbs to sialyl Lewis(x), L-selectin, β₁ or (α₄ integrin, the β₃-related leukocyte response integrin, IL-8, or platelet-activating factor (PAF) antagonists, alone or in combination. Antibody-blocking studies of the ligands on HUVE indicated that E-selectin may be partially involved in this CD18-independent PMNL migration but that ICAM-1, VCAM-1, PECAM-1, and P-selectin are not involved. Of several chemotactic factors tested, C5a and C5a(desArg) in activated plasma were the most active in inducing CD18-independent migration of PMNLs across IL-1-activated HUVE. These results demonstrate that (1) monocytes can utilize VLA-4 for optimal transendothelial migration and (2) PMNLs may have a novel CD18-independent migration mechanism that is activated by C5a in conjunction with one or more ligands on cytokine-activated endothelium. This may involve, in part, E-selectin interacting with a yet to be identified counterreceptor on PMNLs.