The contribution of chemokines toward angiogenesis is currently a focus of intensive investigation. Certain members of the CXC chemokine family can induce bovine capillary endothelial cell migration in vitro and corneal angiogenesis in vivo, and apparently act via binding to their receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2. We used an RNAse protection assay that permitted the simultaneous detection of mRNA for various CXC chemokine receptors in resting human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and detected low levels of only CXCR4 mRNA. Stimulation of HUVECs with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) up-regulated levels of only CXCR4 mRNA. CXCR4 specifically binds the chemokine stromal-derived factor-1alpha (SDF-1alpha). Competitive binding studies using 125I-labeled SDF-1alpha with Scatchard analysis indicated that VEGF or bFGF induced an average number of approximately 16,600 CXCR4 molecules per endothelial cell, with a Kd = 1.23 x 10(-9) mol/L. These receptors were functional as HUVECs and human aorta endothelial cells (HAECs) migrated toward SDF-1alpha. Although SDF-1alpha-induced chemotaxis was inhibited by the addition of a neutralizing monoclonal CXCR4 antibody, endothelial chemotaxis toward VEGF was not altered; therefore, the angiogenic effect of VEGF is independent of SDF-1alpha. Furthermore, subcutaneous SDF-1alpha injections into mice induced formation of local small blood vessels that was accompanied by leukocytic infiltrates. To test whether these effects were dependent on circulating leukocytes, we successfully obtained SDF-1alpha-induced neovascularization from cross sections of leukocyte-free rat aorta. Taken together, our data indicate that SDF-1alpha acts as a potent chemoattractant for endothelial cells of different origins bearing CXCR4 and is a participant in angiogenesis that is regulated at the receptor level by VEGF and bFGF.
We converted a model, syngeneic, nonimmunogenic tumor antigen into a vaccine by fusing it with a proinflammatory chemokine. Two chemokines, interferon inducible protein 10 and monocyte chemotactic protein 3, were fused to lymphoma Ig variable regions (sFv). The sFv-chemokine fusion proteins elicited chemotactic responses in vitro and induced inflammatory responses in vivo. Furthermore, in two independent models, vaccination with DNA constructs encoding the corresponding fusions generated superior protection against a large tumor challenge (20 times the minimum lethal dose), as compared with the best available protein vaccines. Immunity was not elicited by controls, including fusions with irrelevant sFv; fusions with a truncated chemokine that lacked receptor binding and chemotactic activity; mixtures of free chemokine and sFv proteins; or naked DNA plasmid vaccines encoding unlinked sFv and chemokine. The requirement for linkage of conformationally intact sFv and functionally active chemokine strongly suggested that the mechanism underlying these effects was the novel targeting of antigen presenting cells (APC) for chemokine receptor-mediated uptake of antigen, rather than the simple recruitment of APC to tumor by the chemokine. Finally, in addition to superior potency, these fusions were distinguished from lymphoma Ig fusions with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor or other cytokines by their induction of critical effector T cells.
An intact chemotactic response is vital for leukocyte trafficking and host defense. Opiates are known to exert a number of immunomodulating effects in vitro and in vivo, and we sought to determine whether they were capable of inhibiting chemokine-induced directional migration of human leukocytes, and if so, to ascertain the mechanism involved. The endogenous opioid met-enkephalin induced monocyte chemotaxis in a pertussis toxin–sensitive manner. Met-enkephalin, as well as morphine, inhibited IL-8–induced chemotaxis of human neutrophils and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, regulated upon activation, normal T expressed and secreted (RANTES), and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, but not MIP-1β–induced chemotaxis of human monocytes. This inhibition of chemotaxis was mediated by δ and μ but not κ G protein–coupled opiate receptors. Calcium flux induced by chemokines was unaffected by met-enkephalin pretreatment. Unlike other opiate-induced changes in leukocyte function, the inhibition of chemotaxis was not mediated by nitric oxide. Opiates induced phosphorylation of the chemokine receptors CXCR1 and CXCR2, but neither induced internalization of chemokine receptors nor perturbed chemokine binding. Thus, inhibition of chemokine-induced chemotaxis by opiates is due to heterologous desensitization through phosphorylation of chemokine receptors. This may contribute to the defects in host defense seen with opiate abuse and has important implications for immunomodulation induced by several endogenous neuropeptides which act through G protein–coupled receptors.
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