© 1996 American Heart Association, Inc.
Articles |
Complement-Induced Release of Monocyte Chemotactic Protein-1 From Human Smooth Muscle Cells
A Possible Initiating Event in Atherosclerotic Lesion Formation
From the Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, and the MRC Molecular Immunopathology Unit (R.O., P.L.), MRC Centre, Cambridge, UK.
Correspondence to Dr Med Jan Torzewski, University of Ulm, Internal Medicine II, Department of Cardiology, Robert Koch-Str 8, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
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Abstract |
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Abstract Increasing evidence suggests that complement activation might represent an important mechanism in early atherogenesis. Thus, complement components, in particular the membrane attack complex (MAC) C5b-9(m), have been isolated from human atherosclerotic lesions. Furthermore, complement activation is known to occur in atherosclerotic lesions induced in experimental animals, and the severity of cholesterol-induced plaques is markedly reduced in complement-deficient animals. During atherogenesis monocytes are recruited into the arterial wall, and a potent chemoattractant for monocytes, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), is expressed by vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs). We hypothesized that generation of MACs on SMCs during the activation of complement might lead to the release of MCP-1 and hence to monocyte recruitment. In this study, MACs were generated on human SMCs in vitro by sequential addition of the purified complement components C5b6, C7, C8, and C9. The supernatant of the culture was chemotactic for freshly isolated peripheral blood monocytes in a modified Boyden chamber. The chemotactic activity of the supernatant was abolished by anti–MCP-1 blocking antibodies but not by an isotype-matched antibody against an irrelevant antigen. The release of chemotactic activity was dependent on the dose of MAC formed on SMCs and was demonstrated within 10 minutes of exposure of the cells. The data support the hypothesis that complement-mediated release of MCP-1 from SMCs might be important in the recruitment of monocytes into the developing atherosclerotic lesion and could be an important initiating event in atherogenesis.
Key Words: atherogenesis • complement • smooth muscle cells • monocytes • monocyte chemotactic protein-1
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Introduction |
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Migration of monocytes into the arterial wall is an outstanding cellular event in atherosclerotic lesion formation. Monocytes are a major constituent of the growing lesion, whereas few if any neutrophils are found.1 The monocytes that migrate into the subendothelium via cell junctions respond to chemoattractants in the intima or media of the vessel wall.
MCP-1 seems to be the major chemotactic molecule generated within the vessel wall.2 It is chemotactic for monocytes but not neutrophils3 and is found in macrophage-rich areas of human and rabbit atherosclerotic lesions.4 Cellular sources of MCP-1 include monocytes and mesenchymal cells including fibroblasts, vascular endothelial cells, and SMCs. Its synthesis can be stimulated by platelet-derived growth factor, interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor, lipopolysaccharide, and FCS, all of which induce MCP-1 gene transcription and mRNA synthesis.5
In addition to its cytolytic properties, the MAC of human complement [C5b-9(m), ie, the membrane-bound form of C5b-9] is now recognized as a mediator of a range of cellular processes in the absence of cell death.6 Rapid (within minutes) as well as slow (within hours) responses by attacked nucleated cells have been reported. Depending on the target cells, cellular responses include mitogen and eicosanoid release7 8 or increased collagen synthesis.9
Terminal complement complexes have been isolated from human arteriosclerotic lesions.10 The characterization of these complexes as C5b-9(m) provides conclusive evidence for the in situ activation of complement, because MAC/C5b-9(m) is not water soluble and cannot diffuse into the lesion. The component of lesions that activates complement is still a matter for discussion. A complement-activating lipid has been isolated from human atherosclerotic lesions,11 and enzymatic treatment of LDL generates a complement-activating lipid in vitro.12 Thus, a derivative of LDL might activate the alternative pathway of complement in the early lesion and cause a so-called "innocent bystander attack" on cells in the lesion.13 SMCs would be susceptible to such attack because, unlike other cells of the lesion, they do not express the MAC-protecting surface molecule CD59 constitutively, although under some circumstances it may be induced.14
In the light of the evidence for the presence of MACs in atherosclerotic lesions, we postulated that MACs might act on SMCs to cause the release of MCP-1, thus leading to chemoattraction of monocytes. Such an indirect pathway could explain, at least in part, the presence of monocyte/macrophages but the absence of neutrophils within the lesion.
By using an in vitro method for generating C5b-9 complexes from purified complement components (reactive lysis),15 16 we were able to study the release of chemotactic activity by human SMCs without the confounding influences (eg, generation of chemotactic anaphylatoxins) that complement activation by either the classic or alternative pathway would have caused. We report here that formation of MACs on human SMCs in culture leads to release of chemotactic activity for freshly isolated HBMs. Experiments with blocking antibodies to MCP-1 provide evidence that this chemotactic activity is due to release of MCP-1. Thus, the data support the hypothesis that complement activation within the vessel wall may lead to the recruitment of monocytes by the release of MCP-1 from SMCs.
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Methods |
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Cell Culture
The culture medium used for most cell types was DMEM (GIBCO) that was buffered with 3.7 g/L NaHCO3, gassed with 5% CO2, and supplemented with 100 IU/mL penicillin (Sigma PEN-NA), 100 mg/mL streptomycin (Sigma S-6501), and 4 mmol/L L-glutamine (Sigma G-3126). Cells were maintained in a humidified incubator at 37°C. HBMs were purified from buffy coats (concentrated leukocytes) as described by Denholm and Wolber.17 The buffy coats were produced by the Blood Transfusion Service, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, and prevented from clotting by citrate. They were used on the day of production. The purity of monocytes was determined by flow cytometry using the size/granularity index and found to be about 75% to 80% of the total number of cells. SMCs were kindly provided by Prof Peter Weissberg, Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Addenbrooke's Hospital. The SMCs were isolated from human aortas by the explant method of Ross18 and were demonstrated to be SMCs rather than fibroblasts by staining with an antibody to SMC
-actin. The
secondary cultures of human SMCs were maintained in DMEM containing
20% FCS, fed once every 3 days, and split to a ratio of 1:2 upon
reaching confluence. Cells were dissociated by using a trypsin/EDTA
solution (GIBCO) in PBS. Subcultures 10 through 15 were used as target
cells for complement attack.
Chemotaxis Assay
Chemotaxis of monocytes and monocyte-derived
macrophages was measured in a 48-well modified Boyden
microchemotaxis chamber (lower- and upper-well volume, 25 and 50
µL, respectively; Neuroprobe). Incubation time was 75 minutes. To
differentiate chemokinetic from chemotactic responses, a checkerboard
analysis was performed.19 The migrated cells were
quantified under a light microscope by using a specific grid. The
migrated cells were counted in five random high-power fields for
each well. Each sample was tested in triplicate.
MAC Formation on SMCs
C5b6 and C9 were isolated from acute-phase serum that had
been activated with yeast cell walls.16 The
euglobulin fraction of this activated serum was further
purified by anion exchange on DE-Sephacel and size fractionation on
Sephadex G-200. C7 and C8 were prepared from a 20% sodium sulfate
precipitate of normal human serum. The precipitate was redissolved and
further purified by anion exchange with an increasing salt gradient to
elute the bound C7. C8 was further purified by a second precipitation
by using Rivanol, by fractionation on CM-Cellulose with an increasing
salt gradient, and by size fractionation on Sephadex G-200.
One MHD of C5b6 was defined as the amount of C5b6 needed to produce 50% lysis of 50 µL 1% guinea pig erythrocytes (1.25x106 cells). The equivalent dose of C7 and the doses of C8 and C9 required for lysis were found by titration. To form the MAC on SMCs, purified human terminal complement components diluted in DMEM were added in a 24-well plate to confluent quiescent human SMCs as follows: first, 300 µL DMEM, 25 µL PBS/C5b6 containing varying MHDs, and 2.5 µL PBS/C7, and 3 minutes later, 100 µL DMEM/C8+C9. After 45 minutes the culture medium was removed, spun down (5 minutes, 1500 rpm, 45°C), and then used in the chemotaxis assay for monocytes to test for chemotactic activity.
Assay for Toxicity by Measurement of
[3H]Adenine Release
After the SMCs were incubated in 0.2% FCS, they were loaded
with 1 µCi [3H]adenine (Amersham) in 0.2% FCS/DMEM,
and the incubation period was continued for 2 hours. This medium was
then removed, cells were washed with PBS, and the test medium was
added. Streptolysin S (50 U/mL; Sigma) served as a positive control. At
the end of the incubation with test medium (45 minutes; see above) the
medium from each well was removed and placed in scintillation vials.
The wells were then washed in PBS, and the washings were added to
separate scintillation vials. Finally, the cells remaining in each well
were treated with 0.1% Triton X-100 in PBS for 5 minutes to lyse the
cells. The lysate was also counted for 3H on a
scintillation counter, and the percentage of [3H]adenine
release from cells was calculated.
Neutralization of Chemotactic Activity With Specific
Antibodies
Supernatant (100 µL) from MAC-treated SMCs was preincubated
with 1 µL anti–human monocyte chemotactic and activating factor
antibody (MCAF/MCP-1, Anogen Ltd, clone S-101, 1 mg/mL) at 37°C for
30 minutes and subsequently used in the chemotaxis assay.
Statistical Analysis
Results are expressed as mean±SEM. Sample means were compared
by using a Student's t test; n=number of assays. A value of
P<.05 was considered significant.
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Results |
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HBMs Lose Their Chemotactic Responsiveness to MCP-1 During In Vitro Maturation
To study the dynamics of monocyte responsiveness to MCP-1, commercially available purified MCP-1 (Pepro Tech) in its maximum chemotactic concentration (20 ng/mL, as specified by the manufacturer) was offered to freshly isolated HBMs and 1- and 7-day–matured monocytes. The results showed a marked decrease in the chemotactic responses of monocytes to purified MCP-1 during the process of in vitro maturation (Fig 1
). After only 1 day of incubation in
20% AB serum, monocytes had lost all their responsiveness to
MCP-1.
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The chemotactic response of freshly isolated monocytes to the
commercial MCP-1 could be blocked completely when the MCP-1 was
preincubated with neutralizing anti–MCP-1 antibodies (Fig 2). To exclude nonspecific effects, the antibody was
tested in an assay with C5a as a chemoattractant. No blockade of
chemotactic response to C5a in concentrations from 2 to 50 ng/mL could
be observed. Furthermore, a murine monoclonal antibody to C5b-9 had no
effect on the response of HBMs to MCP-1.
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Human Confluent SMCs Attacked by Sublethal Concentrations of
Terminal Complement Proteins Release MCP-1
Terminal complement proteins were generated on human SMCs (see
"Methods"). The supernatant of nontreated SMCs, the individual
complement components, the complement components in combination, and
DMEM served as controls. The results showed a significantly increased
migration to the supernatant of MAC-treated SMCs (1000 MHD) compared
with controls (Fig 3). The chemotactic index (number of
migrated cells in the sample/number of migrated cells in the control)
was 
2. Checkerboard analysis indicated a true chemotactic
rather than chemokinetic response. Experiments with the blocking
antibody provided evidence that this chemotactic response was due to
MCP-1. Thus, the results suggested a release of MCP-1 by human SMCs in
response to MAC formation.
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A dose-response curve in the presence of equivalent amounts of C7,
C8, and C9 was provided with increasing concentrations of C5b6. Fig 4 shows an increase of chemotactic response that reached
a plateau at 1000 MHD. Measurement of [3H]adenine release
showed no lytic effect of the MAC up to a concentration of 1000
MHD/well, providing evidence for a release of chemotactic activity in
response to a sublytic dose of the MAC.
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The time curve (Fig 5) showed a chemotactic response to
the supernatant only 10 minutes after exposure of the cells to the MAC,
suggesting a very quick release of chemoattractants.
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Discussion |
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We have demonstrated that treatment of human confluent, 48-hour quiescent SMCs with human purified C5b-9(m) proteins, the MAC of human complement, results in the release of chemotactic activity for HBMs. Experiments with blocking antibodies provided evidence that this chemotactic activity is due to MCP-1. The release was MAC dose–dependent and could be observed after only 10 minutes following treatment of the cells with the MAC.
Additionally, we report here that freshly isolated HBMs rapidly lose their responsiveness to purified MCP-1 during the process of in vitro maturation in 20% AB serum. These observations are in line with findings by Yoshimura and Leonard,20 who report that monocytes lose most of their MCP-1 receptors and responsiveness after overnight culture in RPMI 1640 medium containing 10% human AB serum at 37°C.
MCP-1, a low-molecular-weight protein of 8.7 kD, seems to be the major chemotactic molecule generated within the vessel wall and has received much attention recently. It is chemotactic for monocytes but not neutrophils.3 Because of the high content of monocyte-derived cells and the lack of neutrophils in arteriosclerotic lesions, MCP-1 is of considerable interest in lesion development. SMCs are known to produce MCP-1, and its synthesis and secretion in these cells is stimulated by FCS, platelet-derived growth factor, lipopolysaccharide, and interleukin-1, all of which induce increased MCP-1 gene transcription and mRNA synthesis.5
Increasing evidence suggests that complement activation might be an important initiating event in atherogenesis. In animal experiments complement activation reaches completion at a very early stage, paralleling lipid accumulation and preceding monocyte infiltration.21 The severity of cholesterol-induced atheroma is markedly reduced in rabbits depleted of complement or C6.22 An aberrant lipid in the arterial lesion might be the complement-activating structure in the arteriosclerotic lesion.11 Terminal complement complexes have been isolated from human aortic lesions.10 Interestingly, the highest concentrations have been eluted from an early stage of lesion development, the intimal thickening. In situ formation of MACs in human lesions has been demonstrated.11 The fact that human SMCs are not as well protected against complement attack as other cell types in the lesion suggests SMCs as target cells for MAC formation.14
In other studies, sublethal concentrations of MACs have resulted in the release of basic fibroblast growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor within minutes after MAC treatment.7 The mechanisms that may cause this release include MAC-induced ionic changes (especially an increase in intracellular calcium), which activate exocytic pathways, and mitogen release through the MAC pores themselves. Other cellular responses to MACs are slower and may involve cellular enzyme systems such as the phosphatidylinositol-directed phospholipase C23 and increased mRNA synthesis. Examples of this delayed response are increased eicosanoid release and interleukin-1 release from human glomerular epithelial cells8 as well as the enhanced synthesis of type IV collagen by glomerular epithelial cells.9
The short time period of the response observed in our experiments makes requirement of increased mRNA synthesis or protein synthesis very unlikely, and thus it indicates a release of intracellular MCP-1 stores. Nothing is known about intracellular storage of MCP-1 so far, but an intracellular storage is conceivable and has been described for many other secreted proteins. This observation raises the question of the state of the SMC in vivo. Previous stimulation of SMCs by MCP-1 synthesis (see above) might be the precondition for the response of the cells to terminal complement components.
As yet little is known about the interaction of complement and SMCs. Apart from the observation made nearly 30 years ago that C5a causes contraction of SMCs,24 this issue has received little emphasis. Under normal circumstances in the arterial wall SMCs are hardly exposed to complement because the endothelial monolayer and the internal elastic lamina largely inhibit the penetration of the plasma molecules.25 In case of endothelial damage the transudation of macromolecules, including complement components, into the arterial wall might increase. The complement-activating structure in the lesion is still a matter for discussion. In any event, whatever the complement-activating structure is, MAC formation has been demonstrated in the early lesion, and the target cell most likely is the SMC. In this context our data suggest that MCP-1 release from human SMCs in response to MAC formation might be an important mechanism in specific monocyte recruitment into the arterial wall.
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Selected Abbreviations and Acronyms |
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Acknowledgments |
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We gratefully acknowledge Prof Dr Sucharit Bhakdi for focusing our interest on the potential role of complement in atherogenesis and for helpful discussions and critical reading of the manuscript. We thank the Blood Transfusion Service, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, for providing buffy coats. We gratefully appreciate the expert technical assistance of Cheryl Godliman.
Received August 22, 1995; accepted February 6, 1996.
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