CHARACTERIZATION OF MURINE INTERCELLULAR-ADHESION MOLECULE-2

Rat mAbs were raised against murine intercellular adhesion molecule-2 (ICAM-2). Immune precipitation and purification reveal that the murine ICAM-2 glycoprotein is 55 kDa and is similar in size to human ICAM-2. ICAM-2 is expressed on a variety of leukocyte cell lines, including T and B lymphoma, mastocytoma, and macrophage lines. ICAM-2 is well exp ressed on endothelioma cell lines, and in contrast to ICAM-1, expressi on is not increased by inflammatory cytokines. One of the mAb to ICAM- 2 partially or completely inhibits binding of cells expressing LFA-1 t o purified ICAM-2, and binding of cells expressing ICAM-2 to purified LFA-1. The findings in the mouse are congruent with those in the human , suggesting functional conservation of ICAM-2 across species.