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Adhesion molecules and their role in inflammation

1991; Elsevier BV; Volume: 85; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0954-6111(06)80284-2

1532-3064

Stephen Montefort, Stephen T. Holgate,

Platelet Disorders and Treatments

The smooth-running of the immune system depends on efficient antigen presentation to relevant leucocytes, the mobilization of these cells to the site at which the host is being challenged and attachment of these to target cells. These leucocyte functions depend on a system which enables efficient ceil-to-cell interaction. This contact needs to be transient and cyclical for the leucocyte to be able to be re-used and able to move to other areas where inflammation is taking place. These functions are subserved by an adhesion system whose members and functions are being recognized at a rapid pace. This system enables a leucocyte (a) to interact with another haemopoetic cell or foreign antigen in the blood, (b) to transiently adhere to the vascular endothelium, (c) to be able to migrate between the endothelial cells and through the basement membrane into tissue, (d) to adhere to the tissue's epithelium and cause any of its protective or destructive effects on it, and (e) in some instances, to be activated by these molecules. In recent years, families of adhesion molecules have been discovered which have been found to be important in different sites and situations. They have been characterized by their involvement in both antigen-specific and non-specific adhesion and have also been shown to cause other important effects on tissues which are secondary to their adhesive properties. The specificity of the receptor-ligand coupling of adhesion molecules makes them perfect for their role in immune mechanisms for intercellular- and cell-to-extracellular matrix interactions. The fact that adhesion is an early event in any cell-to-cell interaction makes its modulation very attractive to immunopharmacologists and clinicians alike. In this article, we will attempt to review some of the better-understood adhesion molecule families and their better-known members, and attempt to determine if any advances made since their discovery could be applied to the treatment of allergic-based diseases.