Natural human interferon-alpha enhances the expression of intracellular adhesion molecule-1, integrin alpha 2 and beta 1 by a mucosal epithelial cell line.

We have found that pretreatment of a human oral mucosal epithelial cell line KB with natural human interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) augments the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and the complex of CD29 and CD49b, which is known as very late antigen (VLA)-2, in a dose-dependent manner, whereas the expression of other adhesion molecules such as CD44 leukocyte function associated antigen-3 (LFA-3), VLA-4 and endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 (ELAM-1) did not show any significant changes under the same conditions. The pretreatment of KB cells with IFN-alpha also induces the adhesion of these cells to the human leukemia T cell line MOLT-16 and to peripheral T lymphocytes in a dose-dependent manner. However, the adhesion of the above-mentioned T cells to KB cells was not inhibited by specific antibodies against ICAM-1, CD29, and CD49b. The results thus show that adhesion molecules other than ICAM-1, CD29, AND CD49b are responsible for the induced adhesion between T cells and IFN-alpha-pretreated KB cells.