Identification of two novel LPS-binding proteins in Kupffer cells: implications in TNF-α production

Using a combination of gel-exclusion chromatography and ligand binding with [¹²⁵I]-lipopolysaccharide (LPS), we discovered two novel endotoxin-binding proteins, p31^LPB and p34^LPB, in Kupffer cells. Their molecular masses suggest that these are previously undescribed LPS-binding proteins (LBPs). Evidence from detergent-based cell extractions shows that these proteins are probably transmembrane or located on the inner leaflet of the lipid bilayer. We have partially purified the proteins from detergent extracts of Kupffer cells and proven that they bind diphosphoryl lipid A, an interaction associated with TNF-α production. The proteins do not bind monophosphoryl lipid A. Diphosphoryl lipid A binding occurs in the absence of serum, suggesting a mechanism of cytokine production distinct from that involving CD14 and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LPB). The two proteins were not detectable in resident peritoneal macrophages or in a number of other cell lines of the macrophage/monocyte lineage, suggesting specificity towards terminally differentiated macrophages such as Kupffer cells.