S L Kunkel

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is a potent agonist for mononuclear leukocytes and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and granulomatous lung disease. To determine the role of MCP-1 and related family members in vivo, we used homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells to generate mice with a targeted disruption of C-C chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2), the receptor for MCP-1. CCR2-/- mice were born at the expected Mendelian ratios and developed normally. In response to thioglycollate, the recruitment of peritoneal macrophages decreased selectively. In in vitro chemotaxis assays, CCR2-/- leukocytes failed to migrate in response to MCP-1. Granulomatous lung disease was induced in presensitized mice by embolization with beads coupled to purified protein derivative (PPD) of Mycobacterium bovis. As compared with wild-type littermates, CCR2-/- mice had a decrease in granuloma size accompanied by a dramatic decrease in the level of interferon gamma in the draining lymph nodes. Production of interferon gamma was also decreased in PPD-sensitized splenocytes from CCR2-/- mice and in naive splenocytes activated by concanavalin A. We conclude that CCR2-/- mice have significant defects in both delayed-type hypersensitivity responses and production of Th1-type cytokines. These data suggest an important and unexpected role for CCR2 activation in modulating the immune response, as well as in recruiting monocytes/macrophages to sites of inflammation.

The salient feature of solid tumor growth is the strict dependence on local angiogenesis. We have previously demonstrated that IL-8 is an angiogenic factor present in freshly isolated specimens of human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Using a model of human NSCLC tumorigenesis in SCID mice, we now report that IL-8 acts as a promoter of human NSCLC tumor growth through its angiogenic properties. Passive immunization with neutralizing antibodies to IL-8 resulted in more than 40% reduction in tumor size and was associated with a decline in tumor-associated vascular density and angiogenic activity. IL-8 did not act as an autocrine growth factor for NSCLC proliferation. The reduction in primary tumor size in response to neutralizing antibodies to IL-8 was also accompanied by a trend toward a decrease in spontaneous metastasis to the lung. These data support the notion that IL-8 plays a significant role in mediating angiogenic activity during tumorigenesis of human NSCLC, thereby offering a potential target for immunotherapy against solid tumors.

Abstract By 24 h after mechanical trauma to the cerebral cortex, astroglial reaction begins and injury sites are infiltrated by activated mononuclear phagocytes derived from blood-borne monocytes and endogenous microglia. There is little information about cellular interactions between astrocytes and leukocytes during this process. We previously showed that murine astrocytes produce chemokines including monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. In this study, we asked whether astrocytes produce MCP-1 in the absence of immune mediated inflammation. To address this question, we analyzed the time course and cellular source of MCP-1 in mouse brain after penetrating mechanical injury, with particular focus on early time points before histologic detection of infiltrating mononuclear phagocytes. We observed sharply increased steady state levels of MCP-1 mRNA within 3 h after nitrocellulose membrane stab or implant injury to the adult mouse brain, and MCP-1 protein elevations were documented at 12 h postinjury. In situ hybridization combined with immunohistochemistry for the glial fibrillary acidic protein astrocyte marker showed that astrocytes were the cellular source of MCP-1 mRNA at these early time points after mechanical brain injury. Stab injury to the neonatal brain evoked neither MCP-1 expression nor astrogliosis. These results demonstrate that chemokine gene expression comprises one component of the astrocyte activation program. The data are consistent with a role for MCP-1 in the central nervous system inflammatory response to trauma.

Airway inflammation is characterized by leukocyte extravasation around the peribronchial mucosa and into the airway of the lung. In the present study we utilized a model of airway inflammation induced by intratracheal challenge with soluble parasite (Schistosoma mansoni) egg Ag (SEA) in presensitized mice. The subsequent inflammatory response and leukocyte recruitment consists of early neutrophil (8 to 24 h) and later eosinophil (48 to 72 h) infiltration into the interstitium and airway. Little neutrophil and no eosinophil recruitment was observed in presensitized control mice challenged with vehicle. Multiple studies have demonstrated a crucial role for TNF-alpha during inflammatory responses. In these experiments we investigated the role of TNF-alpha in Ag-specific eosinophilic airway inflammation. Measurement of TNF-alpha expression by reverse transcriptase-PCR and ELISA in whole lung homogenates of SEA-challenged mice demonstrated an early increase in TNF-alpha levels (1 to 8 h). To determine the specific role of TNF-alpha in leukocyte recruitment during airway inflammation, mice were treated with soluble TNF-alpha receptor linked to an Fc Ab molecule (sTNFr-:Fc). This treatment has previously been used to effectively neutralize TNF in vivo. Intratracheal SEA-challenged mice treated with sTNFr-FC demonstrated significantly decreased leukocyte recruitment into the lung and airway. The inflammatory response in the lungs in sTNFr-Fc-treated mice was significantly decreased throughout the study period, as compared with control mice. An approximate decrease in early neutrophil infiltration into the airway was observed when sTNFr-Fc was administered 2 h before the Ag challenge. Eosinophil infiltration was also diminished when sTNFr-Fc was administered before Ag challenge. Interestingly, when sTNFr-Fc was administered therapeutically 24 h after Ag challenge, the eosinophil response was nearly abrogated at 48 h after challenge. These studies indicate that TNF-alpha acts as an initial inflammatory cytokine that subsequently regulates both early neutrophil infiltration and eosinophil recruitment into the lung and airspace.

The overzealous production of pro-inflammatory cytokines during endotoxemia can result in shock, multiorgan dysfunction, and even death. The extent of tissue injury that occurs in endotoxemia is determined not only by the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, but also by the expression of endogenous counter-regulatory cytokines, such as IL-10. In this study, we defined the role of endogenously-produced IL-10 in a murine model of endotoxemia. Initial studies indicated that LPS administration to mice i.p. induces a significant time-dependent increase in plasma IL-10. Passive immunization with anti-IL-10 serum before LPS administration resulted in substantial increases in endotoxin-induced lethality. Furthermore, the inhibition of IL-10 bioactivity in vivo resulted in a greater and more sustained increase in plasma TNF and macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) levels, as compared with control animals, which was accompanied by early increases in lung polymorphonuclear leukocyte influx and lung capillary leak. Finally, anti-IL-10-mediated lethality was significantly abrogated by concomitant treatment with anti-MIP-2 serum and/or sTNFR:Fc alone or in combination. These observations indicate that TNF and MIP-2 are important cytokine mediators during endotoxemia, and endogenously produced IL-10 is instrumental in down-regulating the overzealous production of both TNF and MIP-2 that occurs in response to systemic endotoxin exposure.