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T cell adhesion to the brain microvascular endothelium and subsequent migration into the brain parenchyma is one of the major events in the development of multiple sclerosis (MS). Interactions of the T cell integrin very late antigen-4 (VLA-4) with its receptor, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) have been described to be of crucial importance for the development of MS. We investigated the expression of these adhesion molecules in MS brain tissue by immunohistochemical analysis, and studied their functional involvement in an in vitro T cell adhesion assay. A number of other adhesion molecules were studied for comparison. In cryosections of several MS brains, expression of VCAM-1 was demonstrated not only on the endothelium of vessels surrounding MS plaques, but also in perivascular positions, suggesting expression by pericytes. T cells adhered to both cell types in vitro. Both LFA-1/intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and VLA-4/VCAM-1 interactions were equally involved in the adhesion of T cells to TNF-alpha-stimulated endothelial cells. However, adhesion of T cells to TNF-alpha-stimulated pericytes was clearly dominated by VLA-4/VCAM-1 interactions. These results indicate that pericytes, next to endothelial cells, may play an important role in regulating T cell infiltration into the central nervous system.
Verbeek et al. (Thu,) studied this question.