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RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted) is a member of the C-C superfamily of chemokines and is reported to function as a potent chemoattractant for monocytes, eosinophils, and a subpopulation of CD4+ T cells. Using a recombinant human type 5 adenovirus containing the murine RANTES cDNA (Ad5E3 mRANTES), which is capable of expressing biologically active cytokine upon infection, we initiated a study to characterize the biologic functions of RANTES cytokine in vivo. Intratracheal administration of Ad5E3 mRANTES targeted transient RANTES expression to the bronchial epithelium of the lung in Sprague-Dawley rats. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BAL) collected at 24 h had increased chemotactic activity vs controls as measured in a murine CD4+ T cell Boyden chamber microchemotaxis assay. There was a dramatic increase in the number of cells (macrophage, monocytes, and neutrophils) recovered from BAL samples taken from Ad5E3 mRANTES-treated animals at 24 h, with a >50-fold increase in monocytes, indicating a proinflammatory effect for this cytokine in vivo. This effect on monocytes was transient, decreasing by 7 days, with evidence of increased eosinophils and lymphocytes at this time. Histologic examination of lung sections at 24 h revealed greatly increased numbers of mononuclear cells, primarily monocytes, within the lungs of Ad5E3 mRANTES-treated animals, with increased extravasation of monocytes around blood vessels, indicating an ongoing process of peripheral blood monocyte recruitment. This study provides further evidence for RANTES to be a monocyte chemoattractant in vivo.

Chemokines play an important role in immune and inflammatory responses by inducing migration and adhesion of leukocytes. We have isolated a novel chemokine cDNA, designated CCF18, from a cDNA library of an IL-3-dependent murine pro-B cell line, Ba/F3. The cDNA encodes a protein structurally related to the C-C chemokine members. Among this family, C10 shows the highest homology to CCF18, and MIP-1 alpha also has a significant homology but to a lesser extent. CCF18 produced from COS cells induced chemotaxis and Ca2+ flux in CD4+ T cell clones. Moreover, prior administration of MIP-1 alpha desensitized the cells to CCF18. The CCF18 gene (Scya10) was mapped to a middle region of murine chromosome 11, where other genes for several C-C chemokine members are localized. These results clearly indicate that CCF18 is a new member of the C-C chemokine family. Since a high level of CCF18 mRNA is constitutively expressed in macrophage and myeloid cell lines, CCF18 may play a role in inflammatory processes.

We describe the isolation of a cDNA that encodes human lymphotactin (Ltn), a new class of lymphocyte-specific chemokine. Human Ltn shows similarity to some members of the C-C chemokine family but has lost the first and third cysteine residues that are characteristic of the C-C and C-X-C chemokines. Ltn is chemotactic for lymphocytes but not for monocytes, a characteristic that makes it unique among chemokines. In addition, calcium flux desensitization studies indicate that Ltn uses a unique receptor. The human Ltn gene maps to a different chromosome than do the C-C and C-X-C chemokine families. Taken together, these characteristics indicate that Ltn is the first example of a new class of human chemokines with preferential effects on lymphocytes.

We have characterized the IL-8-induced signal transduction processes in T lymphocytes. A basal level of IL-8 receptor expression was shown on mixed PBL, as identified by using phycoerythrin (PE)-coupled IL-8, and this expression was increased following IL-2 stimulation. Scatchard analysis of T cells revealed competitive binding of IL-8 with a Kd of 0.55 nM, with approximately 1200 receptors per cell, on freshly isolated T cells. After 24 h in culture following purification, reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) analyses show the mRNA for only the type B IL-8R on these cultured T lymphocytes and the cell line MOLT-4. Stimulation of T lymphocytes or T cell clones with IL-8 led to generation of inositol trisphosphate and calcium flux. In addition, when T cells were prelabeled with [3H]oleic acid, IL-8 caused a long lasting, time- and dose-related increase in [3H]phosphatidylethanol (PtE), indicating activation of phospholipase D (PLD). By contrast, this IL-8-dependent PLD activity was undetectable in IL-8-stimulated neutrophils. PLD activation appeared to be downstream of protein kinase C, because several inhibitors abrogated the increase in [3H]PtE, whereas guanosine-5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate (GTP(gamma)S) and inositol trisphosphorothioate (IP3S3) both increased the generation of [3H]PtE. Together, these results demonstrate that the IL-8RB receptor is sufficient to mediate phospholipase C (PLC) and PLD activation in T lymphocytes, but not in neutrophils, and indicate an important difference in receptor usage and signal transduction pathways between IL-8-stimulated lymphocytes and neutrophils.

The C-C chemokines MIP-1 alpha, MCP-1, and RANTES, but not MIP-1 beta, induce the chemotaxis of NK and IL-2-activated NK (IANK) cells, as determined in microchemotaxis assay. Only RANTES and MCP-1, but not MIP-1 alpha were able to induce the chemokinesis of NK cells. In contrast, none of the C-C chemokines tested was able to induce the chemokinesis of IANK cells. IANK cell chemotaxis in response to MCP-1 or RANTES but not MIP-1 alpha, was inhibited by pertussis toxin (PT). In contrast, cholera toxin (CT) inhibited the ability of all three chemokines to induce the chemotaxis of IANK cells. IANK cells intoxicated with PT lost their ability to migrate in response to RANTES and MCP-1 but not MIP-1 alpha, whereas those intoxicated with CT lost their ability to migrate in response to the three C-C chemokines tested. These results suggest that guanine nucleotide binding (G) proteins are coupled to C-C chemokine receptors in IANK cells. Subsequently, we observed that MIP-1 alpha, MCP-1, and RANTES, but not MIP-1 beta, enhance the binding of guanosine 5'-O-(thiotriphosphate), and increase the hydrolysis of [32P]GTP in IANK cell membranes. Further analysis showed that MIP-1 alpha, RANTES, or MCP-1 did not enhance GTP binding in membranes prepared from IANK cells intoxicated with CT, whereas only RANTES and MCP-1 but not MIP-1 alpha lost their ability to enhance GTP binding to IANK cell membranes prepared from PT-intoxicated cells. The differential inhibitory activity of CT and PT suggests that C-C chemokine receptors are coupled to different G proteins in IANK cells.

The murine beta-chemokine TCA3 was purified to homogeneity. The biologic activities of the purified glycoprotein were evaluated in vivo and in vitro. Mice injected i.p. with 1- to 100-ng purified rTCA3 exhibited a rapid influx of neutrophils and macrophages. Increased numbers of neutrophils and monocytes were observed in peripheral blood within 15 min and peak at 45 min. After 45 min neutrophil and macrophage levels were increased in the peritoneal exudate with peak levels occurring at 2 h, followed by a subsequent decline by 24 h. Inflammatory responses were induced in a dose-dependent fashion. The in vivo inflammatory responses were mirrored by the pattern of TCA3-induced chemotaxis in vitro. Neutrophils and macrophages responded to similar concentrations of TCA3 (3 x 10(-9) to 10(-8) M). Lymph node cells responded to other chemokines but did not migrate to TCA3. We also demonstrated that rTCA3 stimulates a transient increase in cytoplasmic free calcium in monocytic cells through a PTX-sensitive pathway. Cross-desensitization studies indicate that TCA3 acts independently of other beta-chemokines (MIP-1 alpha and RANTES) and the alpha-chemokine IL-8. Furthermore, TCA3 does not induce a Ca2 lux in cells transfected with cDNA for the C-C CKR-1 chemokine receptor, supporting the conclusion that there are distinct receptors for TCA3.

Macrophage inflammatory proteins-1 (MIP-1) alpha and beta are members of the C-C branch of the platelet factor 4 superfamily of cytokines, recently designated the "chemokine" superfamily. It has been suggested that the major cellular targets for the biologic activities of the C-C chemokines are the mononuclear leukocytes. However, the original designation of murine MIP-1 proteins as inflammatory mediators was based on suggestions that they activated neutrophil functions such as chemotaxis, the respiratory burst, and degranulation. In this study, we have evaluated the ability of human (Hu) MIP-1 alpha and beta to affect purified human neutrophil function. Although both rHuMIP-1 alpha and -1 beta stimulated significant calcium mobilization in human monocytes, only HuMIP-1 alpha exerted a detectable effect on neutrophils. HuMIP-1 alpha stimulated a small, dose-dependent increase in intracellular calcium, which was accompanied by a simultaneous change in right-angle light scatter, the latter indicating induction of shape change. While the effect of HuMIP-1 alpha on calcium mobilization in neutrophils was small when compared with that elicited by IL-8 or Gro alpha, it had similar characteristics to that by other receptor-dependent neutrophil agonists in that it was dependent on pertussis toxin-sensitive G proteins and on both mobilization of calcium from intracellular sources as well as influx from the extracellular environment. In addition, stimulation of neutrophils with HuMIP-1 alpha led to desensitization to subsequent additions of HuMIP-1 alpha. The stimulatory effect of HuMIP-1 alpha on neutrophil calcium mobilization and shape change was not coupled to other standard measures of neutrophil effector function. For instance, neither HuMIP-1 alpha nor -1 beta had any detectable stimulatory effect on the Na+/H+ antiport, degranulation, actin polymerization, or chemotaxis. Moreover, although HuMIP-1 alpha binding could easily be measured on monocytes or monocytic cell lines, the number of sites were too few to characterize on neutrophils by the same technique. Taken together, these results show that neither HuMIP-1 alpha nor -1 beta stimulate significant neutrophil activation and support the concept that the biologic effects of members of the C-C branch of the platelet factor 4 superfamily are not primarily directed toward neutrophils.

We have used a cDNA library enriched for T cell-specific sequences to isolate genes expressed by T cells but not by other cell types. We report here one such gene, designated RANTES, which encodes a novel T cell-specific molecule. The RANTES gene product is predicted to be 10 kDa and, after cleavage of the signal peptide, approximately 8 kDa. Of the 68 residues, 4 are cysteines, and there are no sites for N-linked glycosylation. RANTES is expressed by cultured T cell lines that are Ag specific and growth factor dependent. RANTES expression is inducible in PBL by Ag or mitogen. In CTL, expression of RANTES decreases after stimulation with Ag and growth factors. Interestingly, RANTES was not expressed by any T cell tumor line tested. There is significant homology between the RANTES sequence and several other T cell genes, suggesting that they comprise a previously undescribed family of small T cell molecules.