Cell adhesion molecules on vessels during inflammation in the mouse central nervous system

The expression of endothelial cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) in the central nervous system (CNS) of the mouse was examined during an inflammation induced by intracerebral injection of killed Corynebacterium parvum (C. parvum). We showed that injection of killed C. parvum produced an inflammatory cellular infiltrate limited to the injected brain hemisphere. However, the upregulation of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 on brain endothelium occurred starting 2 days after C. parvum injection throughout the entire CNS and was not restricted to vessels surrounded by a cellular infiltrate. In contrast to the systemic upregulation of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, cerebral vessels located in the center of the cellular infiltrate started to express the MECA-32 antigen, suggesting an altered functional status of the endothelial cells, as this antigen is suppressed during development of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Binding assays performed on frozen sections of inflamed brains are consistent with an important role for endothelial VCAM-1 in the recruitment of lymphocytes during inflammation in the CNS of the mouse.