The relationship between adhesion receptors and the cytoskeleton is crucial for leukocyte migration and cell-cell interactions (1). In migrating leukocytes, ICAMs 1 are redistributed to the cellular uropod, a membrane protrusion at the rear of the cells (2). ICAMs act as both adhesion and signaling receptors and have partially overlapping functions (3). The  2 integrin LFA-1 specifically binds to the intercellular adhesion molecules ICAM-1, -2, and -3 (4 -6). ICAM-3 is highly expressed in naive T cells and interacts preferentially with two additional ligands, the integrin ␣ D  2 (7) and DC-SIGN, a novel C-type lectin expressed in dendritic cells that binds with high affinity to ICAM-3 (8). ICAM-3-DC-SIGN interaction seems to play a key role during the initiation of the immune response. ICAMs are co-localized with members of the ezrin, moesin, and radixin family of proteins in several cell types (9, 10). The latter proteins are thought to connect constituents of the plasma membrane with the cytoskeleton and are commonly associated with protrusive formations such as microvilli, microspikes, and filopodia (11,12). In leukocytes, ERM proteins are concentrated at the tips of microvilli (13,14), facilitating macrophage phagocytosis (15) and CD95-mediated apoptosis of T cells (16). Interactions between ICAM-1, ICAM-2, and moesin/ezrin/radixin have been studied previously in vitro (10, 17). The functional relevance of such interactions has been illustrated for natural killer cellmediated killing of target cells (18) and for microvillar organization during cortical morphogenesis (19).We have investigated here the dynamics of the interaction of ERM proteins with ICAM-3 and the critical residues in its cytoplasmic region, accounting both for binding to moesin and ezrin and for targeting of this adhesion receptor to the cellular uropod.
EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURESAntibodies, Cells, and Reagents-The anti-ICAM-3 HP2/19, TP1/24 and TP1/25; anti-CD4 HP2/6; anti-ICAM-1 RR1.1; anti-LFA-1␣ TS1/11; anti-CD45 D3/9; and anti-moesin/radixin 38/87 mAb have been described (2, 9, 20). The blocking anti-ICAM-3 140.11 mAb was generously provided by Dr. R. Vilella (Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain). The anti-LFA-1␣ NKI-L16 mAb was generously provided by Dr. C. G. Figdor (University Hospital, Nijmegen, The Netherlands). The anti-ICAM-3 polyclonal antiserum (pAb) was generously provided by Dr. D. Simmons (Imperial Cancer Research Fund Laboratories, Oxford, United Kingdom). The anti-moesin 95/2 and the anti-ezrin 90/3 pAbs were raised in rabbits by immunization with recombinant human moesin and purified human ezrin, respectively, and the former was purified by affinity chromatography (13). The affinity-purified polyclonal antibody 454 raised against a unique peptide from mouse moesin was generously provided by Dr.