Molecules mediating adhesion of T and B cells, monocytes and granulocytes to vascular endothelial cells.

Leucocytes interact with vascular endothelial cells (EC), and adhesion between these two cell types in vitro is modulated by phorbol ester. Monocytes were found to display the highest basal adhesion to EC, followed by Epstein-Barr virus-immortalized normal B cells (EBV-B), T cells and granulocytes. Phorbol ester treatment increased the adhesion of all types of leucocytes, except monocytes. In the presence of this compound, monoclonal antibody 60.3 to GP90 (CD18, a leucocyte-adhesion protein which is non-covalently associated to either GP160, GP155, or GP130) was found to inhibit the adhesion of the four types of leucocytes to a considerable extent, while anti-lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) antibody to GP160 (CD11a) inhibited the adhesion of T and B cells only. Antibody 60.1 to GP155 (CD11b) had a major inhibitory activity exclusively on granulocytes, while antibody LB-2, which recognizes a distinct adhesion molecule (GP84) and, in contrast to the previous antibodies, reacts with EC, mainly inhibited adhesion of EBV-B and did not increase the inhibition obtained with antibody 60.3 alone. Fab fragments of antibody 60.3 inhibited leucocyte adhesion more efficiently, in either the absence or presence of phorbol ester, than the intact antibody molecule. It is concluded the GP90, either alone or associated to the larger glycoproteins, mediates the adhesion in all types of leucocytes, while GP84 mediates the adhesion of the activated B cells.