CR3 and CR4 belong to the family of β 2 -integrins and play an important role in phagocytosis, cellular adherence and migration. CR3 and CR4 are generally expected to mediate similar functions due to their structural homology, overlapping ligand specificity and parallel expression on human phagocytes. Although the different signalling pathways of these receptors suggest distinct functions, possible differences are just being revealed.Previously we proved that CR3 plays a key role in the uptake of iC3b-opsonized particles by human dendritic cells. Now, besides measuring the overall phagocytic capacity of cells including the assessment of surface bound as well as internalized particles, we extended our investigations and studied the digestion of the iC3b opsonized antigen by various human phagocytes. The participation of CR3 and CR4 was compared in the process of binding, internalization and digestion of iC3b opsonized Staphylococcus aureus by monocytes, monocyte derived macrophages (MDMs), monocyte derived dendritic cells (MDDCs), and neutrophils. Comparing the activity of the two β 2 -integrin type complement receptors we found that CR3 plays a dominant role in the phagocytosis of iC3b opsonized S. aureus by all of these cell types. Studying another important integrin-mediated function we demonstrated earlier thatCR4 is dominant in the adhesion of monocytes, MDMs and MDDCs to fibrinogen. Here we studied the participation of CR3 and CR4 in podosome formation by human phagocytes, since these structures are known to play an essential role in cell migration. Our confocal microscopy analysis revealed that both CD11b and CD11c concentrate in the podosome adhesion ring. In summary our data highlight differences in the function of human CR3 and CR4 in the process of uptake and digestion of complement opsonized antigen, while in the process of podosome formation, connected to cellular motility, both receptors equally take part. Keywordsphagocytosis, podosomes, human phagocytes, β 2 integrins, CR3 (CD11b/CD18), CR4 (CD11c/CD18) Highlights -CR3 is the dominant receptor mediating the phagocytosis of iC3b opsonized S. aureus -surface bound and digested bacteria should be distinguished -MDDCs have a unique podosome pattern compared to monocytes, MDMs and neutrophils -both CR3 and CR4 are located in the adhesion ring of podosomes

Integrins are cell membrane receptors that are involved in essential physiological and serious pathological processes. Their main role is to ensure a closely regulated link between the extracellular matrix and the intracellular cytoskeletal network enabling cells to react to environmental stimuli. Complement receptor type 3 (CR3, αMβ, CD11b/CD18) and type 4 (CR4, αXβ, CD11c/CD18) are members of the β-integrin family expressed on most white blood cells. Both receptors bind multiple ligands like iC3b, ICAM, fibrinogen or LPS. β-integrins are accepted to play important roles in cellular adhesion, migration, phagocytosis, ECM rearrangement and inflammation. Several pathological conditions are linked to the impaired functions of these receptors. CR3 and CR4 are generally thought to mediate overlapping functions in monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells, therefore the potential distinctive role of these receptors has not been investigated so far in satisfactory details. Lately it has become clear that a functional segregation has evolved between the two receptors regarding phagocytosis, cellular adhesion and podosome formation. In addition to their tasks on myeloid cells, the expression and function of CR3 and CR4 on lymphocytes have also gained interest recently. The picture is further complicated by the fact that while these β-integrins are expressed by immune cells both in mice and humans, there are significant differences in their expression level, functions and the pathological consequences of genetic defects. Here we aim to summarize our current knowledge on CR3 and CR4 and highlight the functional differences between these receptors, involving their expression in myeloid and lymphoid cells of both men and mice.

Complement receptors CR3 (CD11b/CD18) and CR4 (CD11c/CD18) of myeloid cells are known for long to participate in actin linked functions like phagocytosis, adhesion, and migration. The expression and role of these two β 2 -integrins however, in human B lymphocytes have only scarcely been studied so far, although it has been shown recently that CD11c + B cells are mainly memory cells. In our systematic study we investigated B cells isolated from tonsils and peripheral blood of healthy donors. We found, that while only 5% of resting tonsillar B cells expressed CD11c, their number increased up to 26% after 3 days of BCR stimulation. Lower, but still remarkable percentage of B lymphocytes were positive for CD11c after stimulation via TLR9 alone or via TLR9 and BCR simultaneously. At the same time, we detected no significant expression of CD11b on resting or activated tonsillar B cells. Blood B lymphocytes showed a similar expression pattern of both β 2 -integrins. We demonstrated that CD11c molecules appearing on the surface of B cells are newly synthesized, reaching the number of 9,500 per activated B cell. We found that CR4 expressing B cells belong to the memory pool and the increase of CD11c expression on tonsillar B cells upon BCR mediated activation occurs parallel with class switching. Analysis of the function of CD11c revealed, that this β 2 -integrin contributes to the adhesion and migration of activated B lymphocytes. We also demonstrated that the CR4 mediated adhesion promotes the proliferation of the BCR activated cells. Our studies are the first to demonstrate that CD11c expressed on BCR-activated human B cells are not only passive markers but functional drivers of memory B cell responses.

CR3 and CR4 belong to the family of β 2 -integrins and play an important role in phagocytosis, cellular adherence and migration. CR3 and CR4 are generally expected to mediate similar functions due to their structural homology, overlapping ligand specificity and parallel expression on human phagocytes. Although the different signalling pathways of these receptors suggest distinct functions, possible differences are just being revealed.Previously we proved that CR3 plays a key role in the uptake of iC3b-opsonized particles by human dendritic cells. Now, besides measuring the overall phagocytic capacity of cells including the assessment of surface bound as well as internalized particles, we extended our investigations and studied the digestion of the iC3b opsonized antigen by various human phagocytes. The participation of CR3 and CR4 was compared in the process of binding, internalization and digestion of iC3b opsonized Staphylococcus aureus by monocytes, monocyte derived macrophages (MDMs), monocyte derived dendritic cells (MDDCs), and neutrophils. Comparing the activity of the two β 2 -integrin type complement receptors we found that CR3 plays a dominant role in the phagocytosis of iC3b opsonized S. aureus by all of these cell types. Studying another important integrin-mediated function we demonstrated earlier thatCR4 is dominant in the adhesion of monocytes, MDMs and MDDCs to fibrinogen. Here we studied the participation of CR3 and CR4 in podosome formation by human phagocytes, since these structures are known to play an essential role in cell migration. Our confocal microscopy analysis revealed that both CD11b and CD11c concentrate in the podosome adhesion ring. In summary our data highlight differences in the function of human CR3 and CR4 in the process of uptake and digestion of complement opsonized antigen, while in the process of podosome formation, connected to cellular motility, both receptors equally take part. Keywordsphagocytosis, podosomes, human phagocytes, β 2 integrins, CR3 (CD11b/CD18), CR4 (CD11c/CD18) Highlights -CR3 is the dominant receptor mediating the phagocytosis of iC3b opsonized S. aureus -surface bound and digested bacteria should be distinguished -MDDCs have a unique podosome pattern compared to monocytes, MDMs and neutrophils -both CR3 and CR4 are located in the adhesion ring of podosomes

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