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D D Wagner

Publications and source records attributed to D D Wagner.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Role of endothelial selectins in wound repair.

P- and E-selectins are adhesion molecules expressed on activated endothelium and platelets at sites of vascular injury and inflammation. The selectins are important for leukocyte recruitment. Because little is known about the role of selectins in wound healing, we studied cutaneous wound repair of full-thickness excisional skin wounds in mice lacking P-selectin, E-selectin, or both of these selectins. The absence of either selectin alone had no notable effect on healing, and the only deficit observed was a delay in early neutrophil extravasation in the P-selectin-deficient mice. Mice deficient in both P- and E-selectins had markedly reduced recruitment of inflammatory cells and impaired closure of the wounds. Wound sections, studied up to 3 days after wounding, showed significant impairment of neutrophil influx. Macrophage numbers were also reduced in the double mutants at 3 and 7 days after wounding as compared with wild-type mice. Additionally, a wider epithelial gap in the wounds of the P- and E-selectin-double-deficient mice 3 days after wounding indicated delayed keratinocyte migration. These results demonstrate an important combined role for P- and E-selectins in processes leading to wound healing.

Animals↗

Insights into selectin function from knockout mice.

The development of animal models through gene targeting was very useful to the selectin field. Selectins are found on endothelium, platelets and leukocytes and, they mediate adhesion among these cell types. The removal of a single selectin gene taught us that P-selectin on the vessel wall mediates leukocyte rolling in the absence of inflammation and that all three selectins contribute to leukocyte rolling during inflammation. Similarly, P-selectin is responsible for early neutrophil recruitment while the other selectins contribute in later stages. The knockout animals also confirmed the important role of L-selectin in lymphocyte homing. Removal of both endothelial selectins uncovered the hidden importance of E-selectin in leukocyte homeostasis and showed that the endothelial selectins were as important for leukocyte extravasation as the leukocyte beta 2 integrins. The submission of selectin-deficient mice to models of various human diseases can provide invaluable information on conditions in which an anti-selectin therapy may prove beneficial.

Animals↗

Cytokine-induced meningitis is dramatically attenuated in mice deficient in endothelial selectins.

Leukocyte accumulation in cerebrospinal fluid and disruption of the blood-brain barrier are central components of meningitis and are associated with a poor prognosis. Genetically engineered deficiencies or functional inhibition of endothelial leukocyte adhesion receptors P-, or P- plus E-selectins, lead to deficits in leukocyte rolling and extravasation. However, their impact on meningeal inflammation has not been tested previously. An acute cytokine-induced meningitis model associated with significant cerebrospinal fluid leukocyte accumulation (averaging 14,000 leukocytes/microl as early as 4 h) and blood-brain barrier permeability was developed in adult mice. This model was applied to mice deficient in P-selectin and mice doubly deficient in P- and E-selectins. Partial inhibition of cerebrospinal fluid leukocyte influx and permeability was noted in P-selectin-deficient mice. Mice doubly deficient in P- and E-selectins displayed a near complete inhibition of these parameters. Our results suggest that P- and E-selectins cooperatively contribute to meningitis and that functional blocking of both endothelial selectins in conjunction with antibiotics may provide a therapeutic approach for treatment of bacterial meningitis.

Animals↗

Susceptibility to infection and altered hematopoiesis in mice deficient in both P- and E-selectins.

We describe the phenotype of mice lacking both endothelial selectins after sequential ablation of the genes encoding P- and E-selectins. In contrast with the rather mild phenotypes observed in mice deficient in a single selectin gene, the doubly deficient mice present extreme leukocytosis, elevated cytokine levels, and alterations in hematopoiesis. Granulocytopoiesis is increased both in bone marrow and spleen, while erythropoiesis is partially translocated to the spleen. Virtual lack of leukocyte rolling and low extravasation at sites of inflammation make these animals susceptible to opportunistic bacterial infections, to which they succumb. Our results show that the absence of endothelial selectins severely affects leukocyte homeostasis and indicate that these two selectins are as important for normal leukocyte function as are the leukocyte beta2 integrins.

Alleles↗

Defects in hemostasis in P-selectin-deficient mice.

Recently, our laboratory showed that platelets, like leukocytes, roll on activated endothelium expressing P-selectin, thus suggesting a role for P-selectin in hemostasis (Frenette et at, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 92:7450, 1995). We report here that the P-selectin--deficient mice show a 40% prolongation of the bleeding time on amputation of the tip of the tail. Moreover, defective hemostasis was observed in a local Shwartzman-like reaction induced by skin injections of lipopolysaccharide followed by tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the P-selectin--deficient mice. The hemorrhagic lesions, quantitated both macroscopically and microscopically, were twofold larger in the P-selectin--deficient mice. This was also confirmed by measuring the radioactivity in the skin using chromium-labeled red blood cells. Therefore, it is evident that P-selectin plays a role in hemostasis as suggested by its support of platelet rolling.

Animals↗

Hypoxia-induced exocytosis of endothelial cell Weibel-Palade bodies. A mechanism for rapid neutrophil recruitment after cardiac preservation.

The period of hypoxia is an important priming event for the vascular dysfunction that accompanies reperfusion, with endothelial cells (ECs) and neutrophils (PMNs) playing a central role. We hypothesized that EC Weibel-Palade (WP) body exocytosis during the hypoxic/ischemic period during organ preservation permits brisk PMN recruitment into postischemic tissue, a process further amplified in an oxidant-rich milieu. Exposure of human umbilical vein ECs to a hypoxic environment (pO2 approximately 20 torr) stimulated release of von Willebrand factor (vWF), stored in EC WP bodies, as well as increased expression of the WP body-derived PMN adhesion molecule P-selectin at the EC surface. Increased binding of 111In-labeled PMNs to hypoxic EC monolayers (compared with normoxic controls) was blocked with a blocking antibody to P-selectin, but was not affected by a nonblocking control antibody. Although increased P-selectin expression and vWF release were also noted during reoxygenation, hypoxia alone (even in the presence of antioxidants) was sufficient to increase WP body exocytosis. To determine the relevance of these observations to hypothermic cardiac preservation, during which the pO2 within the cardiac vasculature declines to similarly low levels, experiments were performed in a rodent (rat and mouse) cardiac preservation/transplantation model. Immunodepletion of recipient PMNs or administration of a blocking anti-P-selectin antibody before transplantation resulted in reduced graft neutrophil infiltration and improved graft survival, compared with identically preserved hearts transplanted into control recipients. To establish the important role of endothelial P-selectin expression on the donor vasculature, murine cardiac transplants were performed using homozygous P-selectin deficient and wild-type control donor hearts flushed free of blood/platelets before preservation/transplantation. P-selectin-null hearts transplanted into wild-type recipients demonstrated a marked (13-fold) reduction in graft neutrophil infiltration and increased graft survival compared with wild-type hearts transplanted into wild-type recipients. To determine whether coronary endothelial WP exocytosis may occur during cardiac preservation in humans, the release of vWF into the coronary sinus (CS) was measured in 32 patients during open heart surgery. CS samples obtained at the start and conclusion of the ischemic period demonstrated an increase in CS vWF antigen (by ELISA) consisting of predominantly high molecular weight multimers (by immunoelectrophoresis). These data suggest that EC WP exocytosis occurs during hypothermic cardiac preservation, priming the vasculature to recruit PMNs rapidly during reperfusion.

Animals↗

Acute passive anti-glomerular basement membrane nephritis in P-selectin-deficient mice.

P-selectin present on surfaces of activated endothelium and platelets mediates neutrophil-endothelial and neutrophilplatelet interactions. The role of P-selectin in vivo was examined in a model of acute passive anti-GBM nephritis in P-selectin-deficient and wild-type mice which was induced by intravenous injection of anti-GBM serum. There were two major differences between P-selectin-deficient and wild-type mice. Firstly, mutant mice had approximately two fold more glomerular PMNs and albuminuria than wild-type animals at the peak of neutrophil influx and proteinuria. Secondly, Lipoxin A4 (LXA4), an eicosanoid which inhibits leukocyte-endothelial adhesion in vitro, and is generated primarily by transcellular biosynthetic routes during P-selectin-mediated platelet-PMN interaction [1], was approximately 60% of wild type levels in nephritic kidneys of P-selectin-deficient mice. Injection of wild-type platelets into P-selectin-null mice restored LXA4 to wild-type levels. The corresponding PMN influx approximated PMN levels in wild-type mice receiving platelets but urine albuminuria remained higher. Although these two P-selectin-dependent events cannot be directly linked, our results point to the importance of considering both platelet and endothelial P-selectin in determining the cellular events in inflammation.

Acute Disease↗

Rolling in P-selectin-deficient mice is reduced but not eliminated in the dorsal skin.

P-selectin-mediated rolling is believed to be important in the recruitment of leukocytes to tissue after ischemia-reperfusion injury. The dorsal skin chamber was used to examine differences in the rolling and stable adhesion of circulating leukocytes in subcutaneous (SC) vessels of P-selectin-deficient and age-matched wild-type mice, both under basal conditions and after ischemia-reperfusion. Rolling in the postcapillary venules in SC tissue of P-selectin-deficient mice was significantly lower than that in wild-type mice under the basal conditions and post-ischemia-reperfusion (P < .05), but was not eliminated by the deletion of the P-selectin gene. No significant difference between P-selectin-deficient and wild-type mice in shear rate or leukocyte-endothelial adhesion was observed up to 24 hours after ischemia-reperfusion. These results show that P-selectin-mediated rolling is not a prerequisite for ischemia-reperfusion-induced leukocyte-endothelial adhesion in the skin.

Animals↗

Platelets roll on stimulated endothelium in vivo: an interaction mediated by endothelial P-selectin.

P-selectin, found in storage granules of platelets and endothelial cells, can be rapidly expressed upon stimulation. Mice lacking this membrane receptor exhibit a severe impairment of leukocyte rolling. We observed that, in addition to leukocytes, platelets were rolling in mesenteric venules of wild-type mice. To investigate the role of P-selectin in this process, resting or activated platelets from wild-type or P-selectin-deficient mice were fluorescently labeled and transfused into recipients of either genotype. Platelet-endothelial interactions were monitored by intravital microscopy. We observed rolling of either wild-type or P-selectin-deficient resting platelets on wild-type endothelium. Endothelial stimulation with the calcium ionophore A23187 increased the number of platelets rolling 4-fold. Activated P-selectin-deficient platelets behaved similarly, whereas activated wild-type platelets bound to leukocytes and were seen rolling together. Platelets of either genotype, resting or activated, interacted minimally with mutant endothelium even after A23187 treatment. The velocity of platelet rolling was 6- to 9-fold greater than that of leukocytes. Our results demonstrate that (i) platelets roll on endothelium in vivo, (ii) this interaction requires endothelial but not platelet P-selectin, and (iii) platelet rolling appears to be independent of platelet activation, indicating constitutive expression of a P-selectin ligand(s) on platelets. We have therefore observed an interesting parallel between platelets and leukocytes in that both of these blood cell types roll on stimulated vessel wall and that this process is dependent on the expression of endothelial P-selectin.

Animals↗

Blood cell dynamics in P-selectin-deficient mice.

P-selectin is expressed on the surfaces of activated platelets and endothelium where it mediates binding to leukocytes. P-selectin-deficient mice were shown to exhibit peripheral neutrophilia (Mayadas et al: Cell 74:541, 1993). We now show that this is not caused by changes in bone marrow precursors nor by a lack of neutrophil margination. Both P-selectin-positive and -negative animals displayed similar increases in peripheral blood neutrophil numbers after injection of epinephrine. However, clearance of 51Chromium-labeled neutrophils is delayed in mice deficient for P-selectin, indicating that the neutrophilia is at least in part the result of delayed removal. We detected no obvious alterations in lymphocyte differentiation, distribution, or adhesion to high endothelial venules in peripheral lymph nodes. Through intravital microscopy, we examined the impact of P-selectin deficiency on leukocyte/endothelial interaction beyond the initial stages of inflammation. Four hours after the administration of an inflammatory irritant, leukocyte rolling was observed even in the absence of P-selectin. There were significantly fewer rolling cells relative to wild-type mice, and their velocity was reduced. Moreover, in the peritonitis model, the number of peritoneal macrophages in wild-type mice increased threefold at 48 hours, whereas the macrophages in the mutant mice remained near baseline levels. Thus, whereas P-selectin is known to be involved in early stages of an inflammatory response, our results indicate that it is additionally responsible for leukocyte rolling and macrophage recruitment in more prolonged tissue injury.

Animals↗

Reduced recruitment of inflammatory cells in a contact hypersensitivity response in P-selectin-deficient mice.

The inflammatory response at sites of contact hypersensitivity induced by oxazolone was examined in the ears of P-selectin-deficient and wild-type mice. Accumulation of CD4+ T lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils was reduced significantly in the mutant mice, as well as mast cell degranulation. In contrast, there was no significant difference in vascular permeability or edema between the two genotypes. The results demonstrate a role for P-selectin in recruitment of CD4+ T lymphocytes and show that P-selectin plays a role in long-term inflammation as well as in acute responses.

Animals↗

P-selectin knockout: a mouse model for various human diseases.

P-selectin is a transmembrane adhesion receptor specific to platelets and endothelial cells. It has an N-terminal lectin domain that recognizes specific carbohydrate moieties on monocytes, neutrophils and some other subsets of leukocytes. P-selectin is stored in granules and is expressed on the plasma membrane only after the cells are stimulated by vascular injury or during inflammation. Physiologically P-selectin is likely to be involved in the recruitment of leukocytes that promote wound healing and fight infection. There are many disorders in which the excessive recruitment of leukocytes is characteristic, including chronic inflammation, atherosclerosis, arthritis, diabetes, asthma and reperfusion injury. Because certain cancer cells also express the ligand for P-selectin it is possible that this receptor is involved in metastasis. To study the specific role of P-selectin in these pathological processes, we have prepared a mouse lacking P-selectin through gene targeting. Leukocyte interaction with the vessel wall is defective in these animals as leukocytes do not roll in the mesenteric venules and their extravasation at sites of inflammation and vessel injury is limited. We are testing these animals in models of the various diseases mentioned above in order to evaluate when the absence of P-selectin is beneficial.

Animals↗

von Willebrand factor proteolytic processing and multimerization precede the formation of Weibel-Palade bodies.

We investigated the intracellular site of pro-von Willebrand factor (pro-vWF) cleavage and multimerization, as well as the fate of the propolypeptide (von Willebrand antigen II) after cleavage. Analysis of subcellular fractions of endothelial cells metabolically labeled with sulfate showed that both cleavage and covalent multimerization occur after sulfation and precede the formation of Weibel-Palade bodies. Because sulfation is a processing step localized to the trans-Golgi network (TGN), our results indicate that multimerization and prosequence cleavage also occur in this organelle. After cleavage, the propolypeptide remains noncovalently associated with the mature vWF subunit. This association is promoted by a high calcium concentration and an acidic pH (conditions thought to prevail in the TGN) and explains the 1:1 stoichiometry of the propolypeptide and mature vWF found in Weibel-Palade bodies. The propolypeptide remains an integral part of the large multimeric vWF aggregates in the Weibel-Palade body until secretion. When secretion occurs under slightly acidic conditions, such as may be found in poorly perfused wounds, the propolypeptide remains associated with the endothelial surface-bound vWF, and may thus participate in the wound healing process.

Amino Acid Sequence↗