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Updated: Mar 23, 2026

Static Adhesion Assay for the Study of Integrin Activation in T Lymphocytes
Published on: June 13, 2014
Integrin-Alpha IIb Identifies Murine Lymph Node Lymphatic Endothelial Cells Responsive to RANKL
Olga G Cordeiro1, Mélanie Chypre1,2, Nathalie Brouard3
1CNRS UPR 3572, University of Strasbourg, Laboratory of Immunopathology and Therapeutic Chemistry/ MEDALIS, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Strasbourg, France.
Insights
Lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) in lymph nodes express integrin alpha 2b (ITGA2b), regulated by stromal cell signals like RANKL and lymphotoxin-β. This reveals new insights into LEC activation and heterogeneity within secondary lymphoid organs.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
- Vascular Biology
Background:
- Lymphatic endothelial cells (LECs) exhibit heterogeneity influenced by microenvironmental signals.
- LECs in secondary lymphoid organs encounter diverse cell types and immune stimuli.
- The specific LEC activation signals and their sources in steady-state secondary lymphoid organs are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the expression of integrin alpha 2b (ITGA2b) on lymph node LECs.
- To identify the signaling pathways and cell sources that regulate LEC activation and ITGA2b expression.
- To understand the heterogeneity of LECs within the secondary lymphoid organ microenvironment.
Main Methods:
- Immunohistochemistry to detect ITGA2b expression on LEC subsets in lymph nodes.
- Analysis of ITGA2b expression changes in response to immunization.
- Genetic manipulation of receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) in stromal cells.
- Assessment of lymphotoxin-β receptor (LTBR) signaling in LECs.
Main Results:
- ITGA2b is expressed by a subset of lymph node LECs in medullary, cortical, and subcapsular sinuses, with specific localization patterns.
- ITGA2b expression on LECs increases following immunization.
- Stromal cell-derived RANKL and LTBR signaling regulate the proportion of ITGA2b+ LECs.
- Lymph node LECs express RANK, unlike peripheral LECs.
Conclusions:
- Stromal reticular cells activate LECs through RANKL, contributing to LEC heterogeneity.
- Hematopoietic cell-derived lymphotoxin signaling also influences LEC activation.
- These findings elucidate key mechanisms of LEC activation and regulation within the secondary lymphoid organ microenvironment.
Abstract:
Microenvironment and activation signals likely imprint heterogeneity in the lymphatic endothelial cell (LEC) population. Particularly LECs of secondary lymphoid organs are exposed to different cell types and immune stimuli. However, our understanding of the nature of LEC activation signals and their cell source within the secondary lymphoid organ in the steady state remains incomplete. Here we show that integrin alpha 2b (ITGA2b), known to be carried by platelets, megakaryocytes and hematopoietic progenitors, is expressed by a lymph node subset of LECs, residing in medullary, cortical and subcapsular sinuses. In the subcapsular sinus, the floor but not the ceiling layer expresses the integrin, being excluded from ACKR4+ LECs but overlapping with MAdCAM-1 expression. ITGA2b expression increases in response to immunization, raising the possibility that heterogeneous ITGA2b levels reflect variation in exposure to activation signals. We show that alterations of the level of receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL), by overexpression, neutralization or deletion from stromal marginal reticular cells, affected the proportion of ITGA2b+ LECs. Lymph node LECs but not peripheral LECs express RANK. In addition, we found that lymphotoxin-β receptor signaling likewise regulated the proportion of ITGA2b+ LECs. These findings demonstrate that stromal reticular cells activate LECs via RANKL and support the action of hematopoietic cell-derived lymphotoxin.
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