Roles for VEGF in Neutrophil-Endothelial Cell Interactions

摘要

Although the processes involved in neutrophil-endotheial cell (EC) adhesive interactions are well understood, the mechanisms by which neutrophils traverse the vascular endothelium and migrate into the underlying interstitium remain unclear. Both in vivo and in vitro investigations have shown that such neutrophil migration is coupled to an increase in endothelial permeability to plasma proteins such as albuminl. EC permeability is also increased by the mutifunctional cytokine vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as part of its overall angiogenic activity in the endothelium, and this has been postulated to occur in an NO-dependent way2. Furthermore, VEGF has recently been localised to the specific granules of human neutrophils and has been shown to be released from them in response to the chemotactic agents fMLP and PMA3. In the present study, we hypothesised that neutrophilderived VEGF may play a mechanistic role in neutrophil-EC interactions.