Abstract
On arrested neutrophils a focal adhesive cluster of ~200 high affinity (HA) β2-integrin bonds under tension is sufficient to trigger Ca2+ flux that signals an increase in activation in direct proportion to increments in shear stress. We reasoned that a threshold tension acting on individual β2-integrin bonds provides a mechanical means of transducing the magnitude of fluid drag force into signals that enhance the efficiency of neutrophil recruitment and effector function. Tension gauge tethers (TGT) are a duplex of DNA nucleotides that rupture at a precise shear force, which increases with the extent of nucleotide overlap, ranging from a tolerance of 54pN to 12pN. TGT annealed to a substrate captures neutrophils via allosteric antibodies that stabilize LFA-1 in a high- or low-affinity conformation. Neutrophils sheared on TGT substrates were recorded in real time to form HA β2-integrin bonds and flux cytosolic Ca2+, which elicited shape change and downstream production of reactive oxygen species. A threshold force of 33pN triggered consolidation of HA β2-integrin bonds and triggered membrane influx of Ca2+, whereas an optimum tension of 54pN efficiently transduced activation at a level equivalent to chemotactic stimulation on ICAM-1. We conclude that neutrophils sense the level of fluid drag transduced through individual β2-integrin bonds, providing an intrinsic means to modulate inflammatory response in the microcirculation.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 2822 |
Journal | Cells |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 18 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2022 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- neutrophils
- tension gauge tethers
- β-integrin
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology