Marco Baggiolini

Identification of CCR8, the Receptor for the Human CC Chemokine I-309

The nucleotide sequence for a putative chemokine receptor, termed TER1, ChemR1, or CKR-L1, was recently obtained by a polymerase chain reaction-based cloning technique. It encodes a protein of 355 amino acids that shows 32–45% sequence identity with human chemokine receptors. The gene was localized on human chromosome 3p21–24, the site for the genes for the five known CC chemokine receptors, suggesting that the natural ligand may be a CC chemokine. We have stably expressed this receptor in murine pre-B cells 300-19 and have tested their responsiveness to 20 human chemokines and some other potential agonists. The CC chemokine I-309 was the only agonist that selectively induced intracellular Ca2+ mobilization and chemotaxis in receptor-transfected 300-19 cells. Stromal cell-derived factor 1, which binds to murine CXCR4 expressed in parental as well as transfected 300-19 cells, served as positive control in the functional screening. The interaction of I-309 with TER1 was of high affinity as shown by125I-I-309 binding (K d of 1.2 nm) and transient [Ca2+] i changes at subnanomolar concentrations of agonist. Migration responses in receptor-transfected 300-19 cells was typically bimodal with maximal activity at 10 nm of I-309. These data demonstrate that TER1 (ChemR1 or CKR-L1) is the receptor for I-309, and we propose to call this receptor CCR8 in agreement with the current nomenclature for chemokine receptors. The expression of CCR8 in blood leukocytes and lymphocytes was analyzed by Northern blot. No transcripts were found in RNA from freshly isolated blood neutrophils, monocytes, cultured macrophages, and phytohemagglutinin-stimulated T lymphocytes, and a faint hybridization signal corresponding to the RNA species of 4 kb was obtained only with RNA from interleukin-2-treated T lymphocytes. CCR8 is unusual for its selectivity for a single chemokine, previously shown only for CXCR1 and CXCR4, which bind interleukin-8 and stromal cell-derived factor 1, respectively. Identification of the receptor for I-309 represents a significant progress in determining the function of I-309 in inflammation and disease.

N-terminal Peptides of Stromal Cell-derived Factor-1 with CXC Chemokine Receptor 4 Agonist and Antagonist Activities

Peptides corresponding to the N-terminal 9 residues of stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) have SDF-1 activity. SDF-1, 1–8, 1–9, 1–9 dimer, and 1–17 induced intracellular calcium and chemotaxis in T lymphocytes and CEM cells and bound to CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4). The peptides had similar activities to SDF-1 but were less potent. Whereas native SDF-1 had half-maximal chemoattractant activity at 5 nm, the 1–9 dimer required 500 nm and was therefore 100-fold less potent. The 1–17 and a 1–9 monomer analog were 4- and 36-fold, respectively, less potent than the 1–9 dimer. Both the chemotactic and calcium response of the 1–9 dimer was inhibited by an antibody to CXCR4. The basis for the enhanced activity of the dimer form of SDF-1, 1–9 is uncertain, but it could involve an additional fortuitous binding site on the 1–9 peptide in addition to the normal SDF-1, 1–9 site. A 1–9 analog, 1–9[P2G] dimer, was found to be a CXCR4 antagonist. Overall this study shows that the N-terminal peptides are CXCR4 agonists or antagonists, and these could be leads for high affinity ligands.

CHEMOKINE ANTAGONISTS THAT DISCRIMINATE BETWEEN INTERLEUKIN-8 RECEPTORS: SELECTIVE BLOCKERS OF CXCR2

Human neutrophils express two interleukin (IL)-8 receptors, CXC chemokine receptor (CXCR) 1 and CXCR2. IL-8 with changes to the NH2-terminal ELR motif can block IL-8-induced neutrophil functions (Moser, B., Dewald, B., Barella, L., Schumacher, C., Baggiolini, M., and Clark-Lewis, I. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 7125–7128). We have now examined the effect of NH2-terminally modified analogs of IL-8, GROα, and PF4 on CXCR1 and CXCR2 independently. Using stable Jurkat transfectants expressing either CXCR1 or CXCR2, it was shown that analogs derived from IL-8 bound both IL-8 receptors with similar affinity and could block IL-8-induced Ca2+ mobilization. By contrast, analogs of GROα and PF4, (R)GROα and (R)PF4, bound only CXCR2 with high affinity and blocked Ca2+ mobilization induced only via CXCR2. The differential effect on CXCR1 and CXCR2 was also demonstrated in studies with isolated neutrophils. Thus (R)GROα and (R)PF4 inhibited only the GROα but not the IL-8-stimulated elastase release, and these two analogs had no effect on IL-8-elicited superoxide generation, a response that is mediated by CXCR1 but not by CXCR2. These results show that CXCR2 selective receptor antagonists can be generated based upon the secondary binding determinants of GROα and PF4. They also highlight the primary importance of CXCR1 in chemokine-mediated release of granule enzymes and superoxide generation. The selective antagonists described may be used in future studies on IL-8 receptor signaling to define distinct steps leading to various functional responses induced in neutrophils via CXCR1 and CXCR2.

Cellular Mechanisms of Proteinase Release from Inflammatory Cells and the Degradation of Extracellular Proteins

Neutrophils and macrophages produce, store and release large amounts of various acid and neutral proteinases. The two main proteinases of neutrophils are elastase and cathepsin G. They are localized in the azurophil granules, together with proteinase 3 and the acid cathepsins B and D. In addition neutrophils contain collagenase in the specific granules, acid proteinases in the C-particles and plasminogen activator in organelles with the characteristics of secretory vesicles. The granule-bound proteinases are released during phagocytosis while plasminogen activator is apparently secreted. In macrophages, the acid hydrolases are bound to lysosomes while the neutral proteinases are confined to secretory vesicles. The main mechanism of enzyme release in macrophages is secretion. Lysosomal hydrolases are also released by phagocytosis. Enzyme secretion is a characteristic property of activated or inflammatory macrophages. Macrophages become activated after phagocytosis of certain particles and the metabolic burst appears to be an initial event in the activation process. The action of neutrophils and of purified elastase or plasmin on cartilage was tested. These experiments indicate that neutrophil-mediated degradation of cartilage proteoglycans is largely dependent on elastase.