Triggering of the CD44 antigen on T lymphocytes promotes T cell adhesion through the LFA-1 pathway.

The CD44 molecule, a molecule which has been previously known as Hermes, Pgp-1, extracellular matrix receptor III, and In(Lu)-related p80, is currently thought to be involved in several steps of normal immune cell function, including lymphocyte adhesion to high endothelial venules and to the extracellular matrix and T cell activation. We now demonstrate that triggering of CD44 on T lymphocytes by anti-CD44 mAb promotes cell adhesion. The induced homotypic adhesion is mediated by lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1), because it was inhibited by anti-LFA-1 antibodies and not by anti-LFA-3 antibodies. This notion is supported by the temperature and Mg2+ dependence which is characteristic of LFA-1-mediated adhesion. Moreover, the sensitivity of CD44-induced adhesion to AMG and H7, which both prevent the activation of protein kinase C, and to cytochalasin B, which inhibits microfilament formation, suggests that the activation of the LFA-1 pathway via CD44 involves protein kinase C activation and requires an intact cytoskeleton.