Association of CD47 with Integrin Mac-1 (α_Mβ₂, CD11b/CD18) Regulates Macrophage Responses

CD47 is a cell surface receptor, which is expressed by virtually all cells in the body, including immune cells. CD47 has originally been identified as an integrin-associated protein (IAP) and shown to associate with several integrins that belong to the β₁ and β₃ subfamilies. In addition, association of CD47 with a member of the β₂ subfamily, integrin α_Lβ₂, has also been reported. In neutrophils, CD47 mediates a number of integrin α_vβ₃-dependent functions, including adhesion, migration and phagocytosis. Surprisingly, the association of CD47 with integrin α_Mβ₂ (Mac-1, CD11b/CD18, CR3), the major adhesion receptor on the surface of myeloid cells, has not been documented. Furthermore, while the major focus of recent studies was the mechanism by which CD47 on various host cells prevents phagocytosis by macrophages, the question as to how CD47 expressed on the surface of macrophages influences the responses of these cells has not been addressed. In the present study, we demonstrated that an association of CD47 with Mac-1 regulates Mac-1-dependent macrophage functions. In particular, adhesion of macrophages isolated from CD47^-/- mice to fibrinogen and ICAM-1, the established physiological ligands of Mac-1 was significantly decreased compared to wild-type counterparts. In addition, spreading of CD47-deficient macrophages was decreased by four- and two-fold on fibrinogen and ICAM-1, respectively. Compared to wild-type macrophages, migration of CD47-deficient macrophages to the Mac-1 ligand, cathelicidin peptide LL-37 was significantly reduced. The lack of CD47 on the surface of macrophages impaired their ability to fuse in the presence of IL-4. Finally, the deficiency of CD47 also reduced phagocytosis of opsonized latex beads, a process fully dependent on Mac-1. The functional association of CD47 with Mac-1 implied that similar to other integrins, Mac-1 might form a complex with CD47. Indeed, co-immunoprecipitation experiments using peritoneal mouse macrophages, the IC21 murine macrophage cell line and Mac-1-expressing HEK293 cells revealed that Mac-1 forms a complex with CD47. The cis interaction between Mac-1 and CD47 was also detected using the proximity ligation assay. Together, these results indicate that Mac-1 forms a lateral complex with CD47, which regulates important macrophage functions. Studies to determine the structural requirements for the physical interaction between Mac-1 and CD47 are in progress.