Granulocyte accumulation in postischemic intestine: role of leukocyte adhesion glycoprotein CD11/CD18

Neutrophils play an important role in ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced vascular injury in the small intestine. Monoclonal antibodies against the leukocyte adhesion glycoprotein CD11/CD18 afford protection against I/R-induced microvascular injury. It has been suggested that the response to I/R differs between the various layers of the bowel wall, with relatively few granulocytes accumulating in the mucosa compared with the serosa or mesentery. The objectives of this study were to determine whether I/R-induced neutrophil accumulation is 1) homogenous in the different layers of intestine (mucosa, submucosa, muscle, and mesentery) and 2) dependent on the expression and/or activation of the leukocyte adhesion glycoprotein CD11/CD18. Neutrophil infiltration was monitored by measuring myeloperoxidase activity in mucosa, submucosa, muscle, and mesentery of cat small intestine subjected to 3 h ischemia (blood flow reduced to 20% of control) and reperfusion. I/R elicited a comparable degree of polymorphonuclear (PMN) infiltration in mucosa, submucosa, and mesentery, with the muscularis exhibiting a greater response. Pretreatment with the CD18-specific monoclonal antibody (IB4) significantly attenuated the I/R-induced PMN accumulation in all layers of the bowel wall and mesentery, indicating that the granulocyte accumulation elicited by I/R is dependent on the expression and/or activation of the leukocyte adhesion molecule CD11/CD18.