Cell death induced in lymphocytes expressing the elastin-laminin receptor by excess agonists: necrosis and apoptosis

This manuscript summarizes our experiments carried out during the last years on the expression of the elastin-laminin receptor on human activated lymphocytes and cell death triggered by the activation of this receptor by its agonists, elastin peptides. We could distinguish two types of cell reactions, depending on the elastin peptide concentration added to the cell culture media of lymphocytes. At low concentrations (1-10 micrograms/mL, 1.3-13 x 10(-8) M) of kappa-elastin, there was a stimulation of cell proliferation, elastase biosynthesis and release. As the concentration of kappa-elastin was increased in the culture medium up to 100 micrograms/mL, lymphocyte proliferation and elastase production decreased and the proportion of dead cells increased. Cell death was shown to be due to both apoptotic and non-apoptotic mechanisms. Apoptotic cell death increased with agonist concentration and reached approximately 60% of the lymphocyte population at mg/mL elastin peptide concentrations. This observation was confirmed by the concomitant use of several different methodologies, such as flow cytometry and electron microscopy. The precise nature of the non-apoptotic cell death remains to be established.