Effects of bacterial lipopolysaccharide on the binding of lymphocytes to endothelial cell monolayers.

Preincubation of human umbilical vein endothelial cell (EC) monolayers with 1 ng to 10 micrograms/ml lipopolysaccharide (LPS) increased the binding of T lymphocytes to EC. The effect was maximal at LPS concentrations of 0.1 to 10 micrograms/ml, and occurred with LPS derived from Escherichia coli (serotypes 0111:B4 and 0127:B8), Shigella flexneri (serotype 2a), Serratia marcescens (serotype 0:3), and Yersinia entercolitica (serotype 0:3). The increased binding appeared to be mediated primarily through an action on EC; preincubation of T cells rather than EC with LPS did not lead to enhanced binding. The onset of enhanced binding was very rapid, being observed after 2 to 3 min of preincubation and becoming maximal after 1 hr. EC were unresponsive to LPS after fixation with 2% paraformaldehyde-L-lysine-periodate and also when the LPS was incubated with EC at 4 degrees C. Enhanced binding was seen with lipid A and with LPS from Salmonella minnesota Re 595 (mainly lipid A) and was abolished by conjugation with polymyxin B. The observed increase in the binding of lymphocytes to EC exposed to LPS suggests that the lymphocytopenia induced by endotoxemia may result from augmentation of the adherence of lymphocytes to altered endothelium.