Secondary lymphoid-tissue chemokine, SLC, also known as exodus-2 and 6Ckine, is a novel CC chemokine with selectivity for T lymphocytes and preferential expression in lymphoid tissues. We have studied its production, receptor usage and biological activities. High levels of SLC mRNA were detected in lymph nodes, the gastrointestinal tract and several gland tissues, but no expression was found by Northern blot analysis in freshly isolated or stimulated blood monocytes and lymphocytes, or neutrophils and eosinophils. In situ hybridization revealed constitutive expression of SLC in the T cell areas and the marginal zone of follicles in lymph nodes and the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, but not in B cell areas or sinuses. Comparison with immunocytochemical staining showed similarity between the in situ expression of SLC and the distribution of interdigitating dendritic cells but not with sinuslining dendritic cells, macrophages or T lymphocytes. SLC induced chemotaxis of T lymphocytes and its activity increased considerably when the cells were conditioned with IL-2 or phytohemagglutinin (PHA). Under optimal conditions SLC had unusually high efficacy and induced the migration of up to 50 % of input T lymphocytes. SLC also induced Ca 2+ mobilization in these cells. Similar responses were obtained with EBI1 ligand chemokine (ELC), and sequential stimulation with both chemokines led to cross-desensitization, suggesting that SLC acts via the ELC receptor, CCR7. This was confirmed using murine pre-B cells stably transfected with CCR7 which bound SLC with high affinity and showed chemotaxis and Ca 2+ mobilization in response to both SLC and ELC. In T lymphocytes PHA and IL-2, which enhanced chemotactic responsiveness, also markedly enhanced CCR7 expression. In contrast to all known chemokine receptors, up-regulation of CCR7 by IL-2 was transient. A maximum was reached in 2-3 days and expression returned to initial levels within 8-10 days. The present study shows that SLC is constitutively produced within the T cell areas of secondary lymphoid organs and attracts T lymphocytes via CCR7.

Interleukin-8 (IL-8) acts on human neutrophils via two receptors, CXCR1 and CXCR2. It shares CXCR2 with all neutrophil-activating chemokines, which like IL-8 have a conserved Glu-Leu-Arg (ELR) N-terminal motif, but is generally considered to be the only relevant agonist for CXCR1. IL-8 has a basic residue at the sixth position after the second cysteine, which was suggested to contribute to CXCR1 specificity. Among the other ELR chemokines, only granulocyte chemotactic protein 2 (GCP-2) has such a basic determinant. Using Jurkat cells that stably express either CXCR1 or CXCR2, we studied receptor activation by IL-8, GCP-2 epithelial neutrophil-activating protein 2 (ENA-78) (which shares 77% identical amino acids with GCP-2) and growth-regulated oncogene alpha (GRO alpha). At 10 nM and higher concentrations, GCP-2 and IL-8 induced significant activation of CXCR1-expressing cells, but no activity was found with GRO alpha and ENA-78. As expected, however, all four chemokines had similar activities on CXCR2-expressing cells. A variant of GCP-2 in which the basic residue, Arg20, was replaced by a glycine was synthesized. This derivative was ineffective on CXCR1, but was as active as wild-type GCP-2 in CXCR2-expressing cells. GCP-2 displaced radiolabeled IL-8 from both receptors with low affinity, and in this respect resembled ENA-78 and GRO alpha. Our data show that GCP-2 acts via both IL-8 receptors and thus appears to be functionally more similar to IL-8 than to the other ELR chemokines. Activation of CXCR1 appears to depend significantly on the presence of a basic binding determinant close to the second cysteine.

The CXC chemokine stromal cell‐derived factor (SDF)‐1 is produced constitutively in different tissues. It is the only known ligand for CXCR4, which is widely expressed in leukocytes and in some tissue cells, and acts as coreceptor for X4 HIV strains. Because of the general interest in the mechanisms that regulate the activity of constitutively expressed chemokines, we have studied the inactivation of SDF‐1 in cells that bear CXCR4. Here we show that B lymphocytes, NK cells and, to a lesser extent, T lymphocytes inactivate SDF‐1 by N‐terminal processing. Inactivation is due to cathepsin G which is associated with the membrane of lymphocytes and rapidly cleaves off five N‐terminal residues by acting on the Leu5‐Ser6 bond yielding SDF‐1(6–67). Processing was observed with intact cells, cell membrane preparations and soluble cathepsin G obtained by extraction of the membranes with Triton X‐100. Cathepsin G is released by neutrophils and monocytes and binds on the surface of lymphocytes by an apparently saturable process. Analysis of the product obtained, the time course and the sensitivity to inhibitors shows that cathepsin G is the only protease involved. Conversion of SDF‐1 to SDF‐1(6–67) was complete within minutes to 1–2 h depending on the enzyme source, and was abrogated by inhibitors of serine proteases and chymostatin. Diprotin A, an inhibitor of dipeptidyl peptidase IV, was without effect. Owing to its availability on the surface of SDF‐1‐responsive cells and its rapid effect, cathepsin G is likely to play a significant role in down‐regulating SDF‐1 activity.

Metacaspases are cysteine peptidases that could play a role similar to caspases in the cell death programme of plants, fungi and protozoa. The human protozoan parasite Leishmania major expresses a single metacaspase (LmjMCA) harbouring a central domain with the catalytic dyad histidine and cysteine as found in caspases. In this study, we investigated the processing sites important for the maturation of LmjMCA catalytic domain, the cellular localization of LmjMCA polypeptides, and the functional role of the catalytic domain in the cell death pathway of Leishmania parasites. Although LmjMCA polypeptide precursor form harbours a functional mitochondrial localization signal (MLS), we determined that LmjMCA polypeptides are mainly localized in the cytoplasm. In stress conditions, LmjMCA precursor forms were extensively processed into soluble forms containing the catalytic domain. This domain was sufficient to enhance sensitivity of parasites to hydrogen peroxide by impairing the mitochondrion. These data provide experimental evidences of the importance of LmjMCA processing into an active catalytic domain and of its role in disrupting mitochondria, which could be relevant in the design of new drugs to fight leishmaniasis and likely other protozoan parasitic diseases.

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