Chemoattractant receptor cross talk as a regulatory mechanism in leukocyte adhesion and migration

Abstract

Leukocytes express multiple chemoattractant receptors that can trigger adhesion and direct their migration. Regulation of such proadhesive and migratory responses must often occur in a complex cytokine milieu in vivo, in which multiple receptors may be engaged simultaneously or sequentially, Here we have examined the interplay between interleukin‐8 (IL‐8) receptor and formyl peptide receptor (fPR) stimulation and its consequences for leukocyte adhesion and chemotactic responses. IL‐8 has no significant effect on fMLP‐stimulated adhesion and migration of human neutrophils, indicating that leukocytes have the potential to respond to sequential proadhesive and chemoattractant stimuli during homing and targeted migration. In contrast, fMLP at ⩾ 10 nM totally abrogated proadhesive and chemoattractant responses to IL‐8, a trans effect to which the fPR itself is relatively resistant. N‐formyl peptides are released by invasive bacteria and lysed cells, and the dominance of the fPR may ensure that signals from these terminal phagocyte targets can override host‐derived recruitment signaling through IL‐8 and other chemokine receptors. Asymmetric inhibition of adhesion‐triggering responses is also observed in lymphoid cells transfected with IL‐8 receptor A and fPR, but in this cellular context chemotactic responses are bidirectionally abrogated, suggesting the potential for downstream desensitization of motility programs as well. Cross talk between chemoattractant receptors and their signaling pathways may help target leukocyte migration in the context of complex chemoattractant arrays in vivo.