Soluble CD14 and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein from bovine serum enable bacterial lipopolysaccharide-mediated cytotoxicity and activation of bovine vascular endothelial cells in vitro.

Bacterial endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS) has potent proinflammatory properties toward many cell types, including vascular endothelial cells. Bovine endothelial cells are often used for investigations involving the vascular endothelium in vitro, and other bovine products such as fetal bovine serum are also widely utilized in research laboratories. Evidence is presented that soluble CD14 (sCD14) is present in bovine serum and that LPS-mediated activation and cytotoxicity to bovine endothelial cells in vitro are dependent on sCD14. LPS-mediated activation of endothelial cells was quantitated by measuring tissue factor expression using an activated factor X-related chromogenic assay. Concentrations of 0.1-5.0% fetal bovine serum in the culture medium promoted LPS-induced tissue factor expression on bovine endothelial cells, and anti-CD14 monoclonal antibody (mAb) (20 micrograms/ml) inhibited tissue factor expression, whereas control antibodies did not. LPS-mediated damage to endothelial cells was assayed using the MTT tetrazolium assay. We found that either serum or recombinant human soluble CD14 (rsCD14, 20-2000 ng/ml) was required for LPS-related endothelial cell damage and that anti-CD14 mAb inhibited cytotoxicity. In addition, bovine LPS-binding protein (LBP, 20 ng/ml) purified from bovine serum had no effect on LPS-mediated cytotoxicity, but bovine LBP greatly enhanced the cytotoxic effect of LPS plus rsCD14. Western blot analysis performed on fractionated bovine serum samples with anti-CD14 mAb revealed immunoreactivity with a 50-55-kd protein, a size consistent with sCD14. Evidence of endothelial cell-associated CD14 was not detected using an immunofluorescence technique on cell preparations, nor by Northern blot analysis. These results indicate the existence of sCD14 in bovine serum and that soluble bovine serum factors including sCD14 and LBP facilitate presentation of LPS to receptive cells.