This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Caimi, G. Articles by Cerasola, G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Caimi, G. Articles by Cerasola, G. Pubmed/NCBI databases Compound via MeSH Substance via MeSH Hazardous Substances DB CALCIUM COMPOUNDS CALCIUM, ELEMENTAL Medline Plus Health Information High Blood Pressure Related Collections Cell biology/structural biology Hypertension - basic studies

(Hypertension. 2000;36:813.)
© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.

Scientific Contributions

Polymorphonuclear Integrins, Membrane Fluidity, and Cytosolic Ca²⁺ Content After Activation in Essential Hypertension

Gregorio Caimi; Rosalia Lo Presti; Caterina Carollo; Maurizio Musso; Ferdinando Porretto; Baldassare Canino; Anna Catania; Giovanni Cerasola

From Istituto di Clinica Medica e Malattie Cardiovascolari, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy.

Correspondence to Prof Gregorio Caimi, Via Leonardo da Vinci, 52, 90145 Palermo, Italy.

Abstract—The purpose of this research was to obtain further information about the role of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in essential hypertension. These cells could be involved in the pathogenesis of organ injury. Thirty subjects (14 men and 16 women) with essential hypertension were enrolled. In these subjects we determined, at baseline and after in vitro activation with 4-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate and N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine, the polymorphonuclear leukocyte membrane fluidity, obtained by labeling the cells with 1-[4-(trimethylamino)phenyl]-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene, cytosolic Ca²⁺ concentration, obtained by marking the cells with Fura 2-AM, and integrin pattern (CD11a, CD11b, CD11c, and CD18), by using the indirect immunofluorescence with a flow cytometer. At baseline there was no difference in membrane fluidity between normal subjects and hypertensives, whereas hypertensives showed an increase in cytosolic Ca²⁺ content and an increase of the phenotypical expression of CD11a, CD11b, and CD18. In normal subjects and in hypertensives, after activation, no variation was found in membrane fluidity and cytosolic Ca²⁺ content. In normal subjects, after activation, we observed a significant increase of the expression of all adhesion molecules, whereas in hypertensives we found an increase of the expression of CD11b, CD11c, and CD18 but also a decrease of CD11a. The behavior of the polymorphonuclear leukocyte integrin profile may have several explanations, and in particular, the trend of CD11a after chemotactic activation may be related to its cleavage or to an altered integrin phosphorylation/dephosphorylation balance hypothetically present in this clinical condition.

Key Words: hypertension, essential • neutrophils • integrins • membranes • calcium