Chemokines fail to up-regulate beta 1 integrin-dependent adhesion in human Th2 T lymphocytes

Th1 and Th2 cells are functionally distinct subsets of CD4+ T lymphocytes whose tissue-specific homing to sites of inflammation is regulated in part by the differential expression of P- and E-selectin ligands and selected chemokine receptors. Here we investigated the expression and function of beta 1 integrins in Th1 and Th2 cells polarized in vitro. Th1 lymphocytes adhere transiently to the extracellular matrix ligands laminin 1 and fibronectin in response to chemokines such as RANTES and stromal cell-derived factor-1, and this process is paralleled by the activation of the Rac1 GTPase and by a rapid burst of actin polymerization. Selective inhibitors of phosphoinositide-3 kinase prevent efficiently all of the above processes, whereas the protein kinase C inhibitor bisindolylmaleimide prevents chemokine-induced adhesion without affecting Rac1 activation and actin polymerization. Notably, chemokine-induced adhesion to beta 1 integrin ligands is markedly reduced in Th2 cells. Such a defect cannot be explained by a reduced sensitivity to chemokine stimulation in this T cell subset, nor by a defective activation of the signaling cascade involving phosphoinositide-3 kinase, Rac1, and actin turnover, as all these processes are activated at comparable levels by chemokines in the two subsets. We propose that reduced beta 1 integrin-mediated adhesion in Th2 cells may restrain their ability to invade and/or reside in sites of chronic inflammation, which are characterized by thickening of basement membranes and extensive fibrosis, requiring efficient interaction with organized extracellular matrices.