Description: Lymphocyte binding to vascular endothelium is a prerequisite for the move-
ment of immune cells from the blood into lymphoid tissues and into sites of
inflammation. Under inflammatory conditions, cell surface expression of
VAP-1 (vascular adhesion protein-1) which is an endothelial sialoglycoprotein,
is induced. VAP-1 is a type II transmembrane protein of 84.6 kDa with a single
transmembrane domain and N and O-glycosylation sites in the extracellular
domain. In vivo, VAP-1 exists predominantly as a 180 kDa homodimer and
functions both as an enzyme (monoamine oxidase) and an adhesion molecule
for lymphocytes.
