The leukocyte integrin lymphocyte function-associated antigen 1 (LFA-1) and its endothelial ligand intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 play an important role in transmigration as demonstrated by in vivo and in vitro models of inflammation. Despite the prominent role, little is known concerning the distribution and dynamic behavior of these adhesion molecules during leukocyte transmigration. Therefore, we examined the spatial and temporal distribution of LFA-1 on neutrophils actively transmigrating tumor necrosis factor-α–activated human umbilical vein endothelial monolayers under shear flow. Upon neutrophil arrest, LFA-1 was evenly distributed. However, once neutrophils initiated transmigration, LFA-1 rapidly redistributed to form a ringlike cluster at the neutrophil–endothelial junctional interface through which transmigration occurred. As transmigration was completed, LFA-1 redistributed to the neutrophil uropod. Endothelial ICAM-1 and JAM-A both colocalized with the ringlike LFA-1 cluster. Further analysis of PMA-stimulated neutrophils, which increase mobility of LFA-1, showed a rapid redistribution of LFA-1 and ICAM-1, but not endothelial JAM-A. Thus, endothelial JAM-A does not appear to contribute to adhesion or transmigration in this system. This is the first demonstration that neutrophil LFA-1 rapidly redistributes to form a ringlike structure that coclusters with endothelial ICAM-1 as the neutrophil transmigrates.

Leukocyte trafficking to sites of inflammation follows a defined temporal pattern, and evidence suggests that initial neutrophil transendothelial migration modifies endothelial cell phenotype. We tested the hypothesis that preconditioning of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) by neutrophils would also modify the subsequent transendothelial migration of T lymphocytes across cytokine-stimulated HUVEC in an in vitro flow assay. Using fluorescence microscopy, preconditioning of HUVEC by neutrophils was observed to significantly reduce the extent of subsequent stromal cell–derived factor-1α (SDF-1α [CXCL12])-mediated T lymphocyte transendothelial migration, without reducing accumulation. In contrast, recruitment of a second wave of neutrophils was unaltered. Conditioned medium harvested after transendothelial migration of neutrophils or supernatants from stimulated neutrophils mediated a similar blocking effect, which was negated using a specific neutrophil elastase inhibitor. Furthermore, T lymphocyte transendothelial migration was inhibited by treatment of HUVEC with purified neutrophil elastase, which selectively cleaved the amino terminus of HUVEC-bound SDF-1α, which is required for its chemotactic activity. The reduction in T lymphocyte transendothelial migration was not observed using a different chemokine, ELC (CCL19), and was not reversed by replenishment of SDF-1α, indicating endothelial retention of the inactivated chemokine. In summary, transmigrating neutrophils secrete localized elastase that is protected from plasma inhibitors, and thereby modulate trafficking of other leukocyte subsets by altering the endothelial-associated chemotactic activities.

CD16 + monocytes represent 5–10% of peripheral blood monocytes in normal individuals and are dramatically expanded in several pathological conditions including sepsis, human immunodeficiency virus 1 infection, and cancer. CD16 + monocytes produce high levels of proinflammatory cytokines and may represent dendritic cell precursors in vivo. The mechanisms that mediate the recruitment of CD16 + monocytes into tissues remain unknown. Here we investigate molecular mechanisms of CD16 + monocyte trafficking and show that migration of CD16 + and CD16 − monocytes is mediated by distinct combinations of adhesion molecules and chemokine receptors. In contrast to CD16 − monocytes, CD16 + monocytes expressed high CX3CR1 and CXCR4 but low CCR2 and CD62L levels and underwent efficient transendo-thelial migration in response to fractalkine (FKN; FKN/CX3CL1) and stromal-derived factor 1α (CXCL12) but not monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (CCL2). CD16 + monocytes arrested on cell surface–expressed FKN under flow with higher frequency compared with CD16 − monocytes. These results demonstrate that FKN preferentially mediates arrest and migration of CD16 + monocytes and suggest that recruitment of this proinflammatory monocyte subset to vessel walls via the CX3CR1-FKN pathway may contribute to vascular and tissue injury during pathological conditions.