Human epidermal keratinocytes are a source of soluble ICAM-1 molecules.

A soluble form of the usually membrane-bound adhesion molecule ICAM-1 was detected in supernatants derived from human epidermal keratinocytes. Specifically, supernatants harvested from long-term cultured normal human keratinocytes, or from the spontaneously immortalized keratinocyte cell line HaCaT, did not contain significant amounts of sICAM-1, but shedding of sICAM-1 was found to be markedly induced upon stimulation of keratinocytes with rh IFN gamma. In contrast, cells from the two epidermoid carcinoma cell lines, KB and A431, constitutively shed significant amounts of sICAM-1 even without cytokine stimulation, and sICAM-1 contents in supernatants harvested from these cells were further increased upon stimulation of cells with rh IFN gamma. These studies indicate, that in addition to peripheral blood mononuclear cells and human melanoma cells, human epidermal keratinocytes constitute an important cellular source of sICAM-1. By binding to leukocyte LFA-1 molecules, keratinocyte-derived sICAM-1 may influence inflammatory responses in the skin. In addition, constitutive shedding of sICAM-1 by transformed human keratinocytes may represent a possible mechanism by which neoplastic keratinocytes escape from cytotoxicity.