EXPRESSION OF THE INTERCELLULAR-ADHESION MOLECULE-3 (ICAM-3) IN HUMANRENAL TISSUE WITH RELATION TO KIDNEY-TRANSPLANTS AND VARIOUS INFLAMMATORY DISEASES

Adhesion molecules are important for immune regulatory mechanisms conc erning antigen presentation, lymphocyte activation, localisation and m igration as well as effector-target cell interactions in inflammatory processes. The immunohistochemical expression of ICAM-3, a recently cl oned new member of the immunoglobulin family which also binds leucocyt e function antigen 1 (LFA-1), was examined in 80 needle core biopsies from 35 renal allografts, 7 patients with mesangioproliferative glomer ulonephritis, 5 patients with extracapillary glomerulonephritis, 4 pat ients with interstitial nephritis and 5 patients with diabetic nephrop athy and 20 normal kidneys. In all types of lesions ICAM-3 was constit utively expressed on the majority of infiltrating leucocytes without d etectable upregulation or presentation on possible target structures d uring inflammation indicating its possible role to be mainly in initia tion of the inflammatory response.