Integrin distribution and cytoskeleton organization in normal and malignant monocytes

In this work we have mapped by double-label immunofluorescence the cellular distribution of integrins and their relationship with cytoskeletal proteins in normal and malignant monocytes. In normal monocytes, CD18 and CD11c are concentrated at specific adhesion sites, named podosomes, together with actin, vinculin, and talin, while CD11a, CD11b, CD29/beta 1, CDw49d/alpha 4 and CD54/ICAM-1 retain a diffuse distribution on the cell surface without a selective pattern of localization. U-937 and fresh leukemic monoblasts under standard culture conditions do not adhere and do not form podosomes, but, when treated with TPA, they promptly adhere to substrate, form podosomes and focal adhesions in different cells and display the same integrin/cytoskeleton relationship as normal mature monocytes. Further, in these cells CD18, CD11a, CD11c, ICAM-1, and talin, but not vinculin, co-localize in homotypic cell junctions, thus showing a close relationship between integrins and talin. These observations provide morphological evidence that, in cells of the monocytic lineage, podosome formation is acquired upon differentiation and different integrins are selectively localized at different adhesion sites.