UC San Diego

There is compelling evidence that circulatory hemodynamics prevent neutrophil activation, including adhesion to microvessels, in the microcirculation. However, the underlying mechanism or mechanisms by which that mechanoregulation occurs remain unresolved. Here, we report evidence that exposure to fluid shear stress (FSS) promotes neutrophils to release cathepsin B (ctsB) and that this autocrine regulatory event is antiadhesive for neutrophils on endothelial surfaces through Mac1-selective regulation. We used a combined cell-engineering and immunocytochemistry approach to find that ctsB was capable of cleaving Mac1 integrins on neutrophils and demonstrated that this proteolysis alters their adhesive functions. Under no-flow conditions, ctsB enhanced neutrophil migration though a putative effect on pseudopod retraction rates. We also established a flow-based cell detachment assay to verify the role of ctsB in the control of neutrophil adhesion by fluid flow stimulation. Fluid flow promoted neutrophil detachment from platelet and endothelial layers that required ctsB, consistent with its fluid shear stress-induced release. Notably, compared with leukocytes from wild-type mice, those from ctsB-deficient (ctsB ^-/- ) mice exhibited an impaired CD18 cleavage response to FSS, significantly elevated baseline levels of CD18 surface expression, and an enhanced adhesive capacity to mildly inflamed postcapillary venules. Taken together, the results of the present study support a role for ctsB in a hemodynamic control mechanism that is antiadhesive for leukocytes on endothelium. These results have implications in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammation, microvascular dysfunction, and cardiovascular diseases involving sustained neutrophil activation in the blood and microcirculation.