Fibroblasts increase adhesion to neutrophils after stimulation with phorbol ester and cytokines

In our research there was spontaneous adhesion between resting fibroblasts and neutrophils in vitro which could be increased by stimulating either the coculture of cells or each cell type separately with various stimulants. Interferon-γ, interleukin-1, and interleukin-6 significantly increased adhesion; however, the highest adhesive response was obtained when cocultures were treated with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). As PMA-stimulated fibroblasts show the highest adhesion to resting neutrophils, it was suggested that adhesion was primarily due to an effect on fibroblasts. Without Mg²⁺ PMA did not stimulate fibroblast adhesion, whereas in the absence of Ca²⁺ the response was only partially reduced. adhesion was independent of both neutrophil integrins and fibroblast ICAM-1, whereas cytokine-stimulated adhesion was blocked by mAbs against ICAM-1; PMA-stimulated adhesion was not affected by mAbs anti-ICAM-1, but was partially inhibited by mAbs anti-β₂ integrins. These results suggested the presence of mechanisms able to modulate the adhesive fibroblast-neutrophil interaction in inflammatory and wound healing processes.