ABSTRACT
During the inflammatory process, leukocytes contact the endothelial cells during a brief period of rolling, sticking, spreading, and transendothelial migration. While many studies have been designed to elucidate the basis for the molecular mechanisms that mediate the leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction, less is known about the consequences of the interaction, especially in regards to the consequences for individual cell viability in the tissue. The interaction between leukocytes and endothelial cells may lead to a major shift of the microvascular permeability (Wedmore and Williams, 1981; Harlan et al., 1985) as well as the production of significant and in part highly localized oxygen free radicals (Suematsu et al., 1993). Consequently it has been proposed that the interaction makes a contribution to endothelial cell killing in various in vitro models (Weiss et al., 1981; Spragg et al., 1985; Varani et al., 1985) but little is known about the actual extent of such killing and potential mechanisms in vivo.
