Colon mucus segregates the intestinal microbiota from host tissues, but how it organizes to function throughout the colon is unclear. In mice, we found that colon mucus consists of two distinct ...O-glycosylated entities of Muc2: a major form produced by the proximal colon, which encapsulates the fecal material including the microbiota, and a minor form derived from the distal colon, which adheres to the major form. The microbiota directs its own encapsulation by inducing Muc2 production from proximal colon goblet cells. In turn, O-glycans on proximal colon-derived Muc2 modulate the structure and function of the microbiota as well as transcription in the colon mucosa. Our work shows how proximal colon control of mucin production is an important element in the regulation of host-microbiota symbiosis.
Integrin LFA-1 plays a critical role in T-cell migration and in the formation of immunological synapses. LFA-1 functions through interacting with its ligands with differing affinities: low, ...intermediate, and high. Most prior research has studied how LFA-1 in the high-affinity state regulates the trafficking and functions of T cells. LFA-1 is also presented in the intermediate-affinity state on T cells, however, the signaling to activate LFA-1 to the intermediate-affinity state and the role of LFA-1 in this affinity state both remain largely elusive. This review briefly summarizes the activation and roles of LFA-1 with varied ligand-binding affinities in the regulation of T-cell migration and immunological synapse formation.
The liver has recently been identified as a major organ for destruction of desialylated platelets. However, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Kupffer cells, which are professional phagocytic ...cells in the liver, comprise the largest population of resident tissue macrophages in the body. Kupffer cells express a C-type lectin receptor, CLEC4F, that recognizes desialylated glycans with an unclear in vivo role in mediating platelet destruction. In this study, we generated a CLEC4F-deficient mouse model (Clec4f
) and found that CLEC4F was specifically expressed by Kupffer cells. Using the Clec4f
mice and a newly generated platelet-specific reporter mouse line, we revealed a critical role for CLEC4F on Kupffer cells in mediating destruction of desialylated platelets in the liver in vivo. Platelet clearance experiments and ultrastructural analysis revealed that desialylated platelets were phagocytized predominantly by Kupffer cells in a CLEC4F-dependent manner in mice. Collectively, these findings identify CLEC4F as a Kupffer cell receptor important for the destruction of desialylated platelets induced by bacteria-derived neuraminidases, which provide new insights into the pathogenesis of thrombocytopenia in disease conditions such as sepsis.
Abstract only Rationale: Integrin-regulated monocyte recruitment and cellular responses of monocyte-derived macrophages are critical for the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. In the canonical model, ...talin1 controls ligand binding to integrins, a prerequisite for integrins to mediate leukocyte recruitment and induce immune responses. However, the role of talin1 in the development of atherosclerosis has not been studied. Objective: To study the role of talin1 in myeloid cells, which include monocytes, in the progression of atherosclerosis. Methods and Results: On an Apoe -/- background, myeloid talin1-deficient mice and the control mice were fed with a high-fat diet for 8 or 12 weeks to induce atherosclerosis. Surprisingly, myeloid talin1 deletion facilitated the formation of atherosclerotic lesion and macrophage deposition in lesions. In a flow chamber assay, talin1 deletion abolished integrin β2-mediated adhesion of monocytes but did not impair integrin α4β1-dependent cell adhesion. Strikingly, talin1 deletion did not prevent Mn 2+ - or chemokine-induced activation of integrin α4β1 to the high-affinity state, which allows ligand binding to integrins. In an in vivo competitive homing assay, monocyte infiltration into inflamed tissues was prohibited by antibodies to integrin α4β1 but was not affected by talin1 deletion or antibodies to integrin β2. Furthermore, quantitative PCR and ELISA analysis showed that ligand binding to integrin β3 inhibited macrophages to produce inflammatory cytokines. Talin1 deletion abrogated the negative regulation of integrin β3 in cytokine generation. Conclusions: Integrin α4β1 controls monocyte recruitment during atherosclerosis. Talin1 is dispensable for integrin α4β1 activation to the high-affinity state and integrin α4β1-mediated monocyte adhesion. Thus, talin1 deletion does not impair monocyte recruitment during atherosclerosis. However, talin1 deficiency abolishes the negative regulation of inflammatory cytokine production by macrophage integrin β3, leading to enhanced atherosclerosis. Our study provides novel insights into the roles of myeloid talin1 and integrins in the progression of atherosclerosis.
Most platelet membrane proteins are modified by mucin-type core 1-derived glycans (O-glycans). However, the biological importance of O-glycans in platelet clearance is unclear. Here, we generated ...mice with a hematopoietic cell-specific loss of O-glycans (HC C1galt1
−/−). These mice lack O-glycans on platelets and exhibit reduced peripheral platelet numbers. Platelets from HC C1galt1
−/− mice show reduced levels of α-2,3-linked sialic acids and increased accumulation in the liver relative to wild-type platelets. The preferential accumulation of HC C1galt1
−/− platelets in the liver was reduced in mice lacking the hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptor Ashwell–Morell receptor (AMR). However, we found that Kupffer cells are the primary cells phagocytosing HC C1galt1
−/− platelets in the liver. Our results demonstrate that hepatic AMR promotes preferential adherence to and phagocytosis of desialylated and/or HC C1galt1
−/− platelets by the Kupffer cell through its C-type lectin receptor CLEC4F. These findings provide insights into an essential role for core 1 O-glycosylation of platelets in their clearance in the liver.
In inflamed venules, neutrophils rolling on E-selectin induce integrin αLβ2-dependent slow rolling on intercellular adhesion molecule-1 by activating Src family kinases (SFKs), DAP12 and Fc ...receptor-γ (FcRγ), spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk), and p38. E-selectin signaling cooperates with chemokine signaling to recruit neutrophils into tissues. Previous studies identified P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) as the essential E-selectin ligand and Fgr as the only SFK that initiate signaling to slow rolling. In contrast, we found that E-selectin engagement of PSGL-1 or CD44 triggered slow rolling through a common, lipid raft–dependent pathway that used the SFKs Hck and Lyn as well as Fgr. We identified the Tec kinase Bruton tyrosine kinase as a key signaling intermediate between Syk and p38. E-selectin engagement of PSGL-1 was dependent on its cytoplasmic domain to activate SFKs and slow rolling. Although recruiting phosphoinositide-3-kinase to the PSGL-1 cytoplasmic domain was reported to activate integrins, E-selectin–mediated slow rolling did not require phosphoinositide-3-kinase. Studies in mice confirmed the physiologic significance of these events for neutrophil slow rolling and recruitment during inflammation. Thus, E-selectin triggers common signals through distinct neutrophil glycoproteins to induce αLβ2-dependent slow rolling.
Neutrophil recruitment, mediated by β2 integrins, combats pyogenic infections but also plays a key role in ischemia-reperfusion injury and other inflammatory disorders. Talin induces allosteric ...rearrangements in integrins that increase affinity for ligands (activation). Talin also links integrins to actin and other proteins that enable formation of adhesions. Structural studies have identified a talin1 mutant (L325R) that perturbs activation without impairing talin's capacity to link integrins to actin and other proteins. Here, we found that mice engineered to express only talin1(L325R) in myeloid cells were protected from renal ischemia-reperfusion injury. Dissection of neutrophil function in vitro and in vivo revealed that talin1(L325R) neutrophils had markedly impaired chemokine-induced, β2 integrin-mediated arrest, spreading, and migration. Surprisingly, talin1(L325R) neutrophils exhibited normal selectin-induced, β2 integrin-mediated slow rolling, in sharp contrast to the defective slow rolling of neutrophils lacking talin1 or expressing a talin1 mutant (W359A) that blocks talin interaction with integrins. These studies reveal the importance of talin-mediated activation of integrins for renal ischemia-reperfusion injury. They further show that neutrophil arrest requires talin recruitment to and activation of integrins. However, although neutrophil slow rolling requires talin recruitment to integrins, talin-mediated integrin activation is dispensable.
During early embryonic development in mammals, including humans and mice, megakaryocytes (Mks) first originate from primitive hematopoiesis in the yolk sac. These embryonic Mks (eMks) circulate in ...the vasculature with unclear function. Herein, we report that podoplanin (PDPN), the ligand of C-type lectin-like receptor (CLEC-2) on Mks/platelets, is temporarily expressed in neural tissue during midgestation in mice. Loss of PDPN or CLEC-2 resulted in aneurysms and spontaneous hemorrhage, specifically in the lower diencephalon during midgestation. Surprisingly, more eMks/platelets had enhanced granule release and localized to the lower diencephalon in mutant mouse embryos than in wild-type littermates before hemorrhage. We found that PDPN counteracted the collagen-1–induced secretion of angiopoietin-1 from fetal Mks, which coincided with enhanced TIE-2 activation in aneurysm-like sprouts of PDPN-deficient embryos. Blocking platelet activation prevented the PDPN-deficient embryo from developing vascular defects. Our data reveal a new role for PDPN in regulating eMk function during midgestation.
•Heightened activation of eMks/platelets cause formation of aneurysms in developing brains of mice lacking PDPN.•PDPN lessens collagen-1–induced secretion of angiopoietin-1 from eMks, preventing detrimental TIE-2 activation in sprouting endothelium.
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Trousseau syndrome is classically defined as migratory, heparin-sensitive but warfarin-resistant microthrombi in patients with occult, mucinous adenocarcinomas. Injecting carcinoma mucins into mice ...generates platelet-rich microthrombi dependent on P- and L-selectin but not thrombin. Heparin prevents mucin binding to P- and L-selectin and mucin-induced microthrombi. This model of Trousseau syndrome explains resistance to warfarin, which inhibits fluid-phase coagulation but not selectins. Here we found that carcinoma mucins do not generate microthrombi in mice lacking P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1), the leukocyte ligand for P- and L-selectin. Furthermore, mucins did not activate platelets in blood from PSGL-1–deficient mice. Mucins induced microthrombi in radiation chimeras lacking endothelial P-selectin but not in chimeras lacking platelet P-selectin. Mucins caused leukocytes to release cathepsin G, but only if platelets were present. Mucins failed to generate microthrombi in cathepsin G-deficient mice. Mucins did not activate platelets in blood from mice lacking cathepsin G or protease-activated receptor-4 (PAR4), indicating that cathepsin G activates platelets through PAR4. Using knockout mice and blocking antibodies, we found that mucin-triggered cathepsin G release requires L-selectin and PSGL-1 on neutrophils, P-selectin on platelets, and Src family kinases in both cell types. Thus, carcinoma mucins promote thrombosis through adhesion-dependent, bidirectional signaling in neutrophils and platelets.