The LFA-1 integrin supports rolling adhesions on ICAM-1 under physiological shear flow in a permissive cellular environment

The LFA-1 integrin is crucial for the firm adhesion of circulating leukocytes to ICAM-1-expressing endothelial cells. In the present study, we demonstrate that LFA-1 can arrest unstimulated PBL subsets and lymphoblastoid Jurkat cells on immobilized ICAM-1 under subphysiological shear flow and mediate firm adhesion to ICAM-1 after short static contact. However, LFA-1 expressed in K562 cells failed to support firm adhesion to ICAM-1 but instead mediated K562 cell rolling on the endothelial ligand under physiological shear stress. LFA-1-mediated rolling required an intact LFA-1 I-domain, was enhanced by Mg²⁺, and was sharply dependent on ICAM-1 density. This is the first indication that LFA-1 can engage in rolling adhesions with ICAM-1 under physiological shear flow. The ability of LFA-1 to support rolling correlates with decreased avidity and impaired time-dependent adhesion strengthening. A β₂ cytoplasmic domain-deletion mutant of LFA-1, with high avidity to immobilized ICAM-1, mediated firm arrests of K562 cells interacting with ICAM-1 under shear flow. Our results suggest that restrictions in LFA-1 clustering mediated by cytoskeletal attachments may lock the integrin into low-avidity states in particular cellular environments. Although low-avidity LFA-1 states fail to undergo adhesion strengthening upon contact with ICAM-1 at stasis, these states are permissive for leukocyte rolling on ICAM-1 under physiological shear flow. Rolling mediated by low-avidity LFA-1 interactions with ICAM-1 may stabilize rolling initiated by specialized vascular rolling receptors and allow the leukocyte to arrest on vascular endothelium upon exposure to stimulatory endothelial signals.