Expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 by vascular endothelial cells in immune and nonimmune inflammatory reactions in the skin.

Expression of VCAM-1 was compared with that of E-selectin in cytokine-induced lesions and in delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions to tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) in pig skin. Lumenally expressed Ags were quantified by measuring localization in skin of i.v. injected (111)In-mAb 10.2C7 (anti-vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (anti-VCAM-1), (125)I-mAb 1.2B6 (anti-E-selectin), and (99m)Tc-MOPC21 (control IgG1). Anti-VCAM-1 mAb uptake was greater following intradermal (i.d.) injection of TNF-alpha than following injection of IL-1, while the two cytokines induced similar uptake of anti-E-selectin. In immunologically naive pigs there was no detectable increase in anti-VCAM-1 after i.d. injection of PPD, although anti-E-selectin uptake was increased at 3 and 6 h. In contrast, i.d. injection of PPD in sensitized pigs led to increased uptake of both anti-VCAM-1 and anti-E-selectin at 6, 8, 24, and 48 h, each of which was significantly greater than the uptake of control IgG1 into the same lesions (each p < 0.01). Anti-TNF-alpha mAb abolished the increased uptake of anti-VCAM-1 3 and 8 h following i.d. injection of PPD in sensitized pigs and significantly inhibited uptake at 24 h (p = 0.0025), but did not significantly reduce uptake of anti-E-selectin. We conclude that in this delayed-type hypersensitivity model 1) E-selectin expression by endothelial cells follows sequential Ag nonspecific and immune-specific phases, 2) increased VCAM-1 expression by endothelial cells is only seen in sensitized animals, and 3) expression of VCAM-1 appears to be relatively more dependent on TNF-alpha than E-selectin. Differential expression of E-selectin and VCAM-1 may influence the leukocytic infiltrate during the course of nonspecific and immune-specific inflammatory reactions.