文摘
Grancalcin is a protein specifically expressed in neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages. The function of grancalcin has not been identified. Grancalcin-deficient neutrophils were previously demonstrated to exert normal recruitment to the inflamed site, NADPH oxidase activation, extracellular release of secondary granules, apoptosis and activation-induced Ca2+ flux. In this study we analyzed granule numbers in resting and activated grancalcin-deficient neutrophils, their phagocytic activity and adherence to extracellular matrix proteins. Results revealed normal phagocytosis and degranulation of grancalcin-deficient neutrophils, while their adhesion to fibronectin was decreased by 60 % . Consistently, the processes associated with neutrophil adhesion, such as formation of focal adhesion complexes and spreading, were also impaired in grancalcin-deficient neutrophils by 89 and 38 % , respectively. In contrast, adherence to other extracellular matrix proteins: collagen, laminin and vitronectin, was not significantly altered. We thus report for the first time a function of grancalcin.