title: IL-4 induces a Th2 response in Leishmania major-infected mice.
abstract: The infection of mice with Leishmania major can cause either a fatal disseminated disease or a localized healing disease, depending on the genetic background of the mice. A strong correlation has been shown between disease outcome and the nature of the T cell response, with healer strains developing a Th1-like response and nonhealer strains a Th2-like response. The treatment of nonhealer BALB/c mice with a single dose of an anti-IL-4 antibody, given at the time of infection with L. major, allowed these mice to develop healing Th1-like responses, suggesting that IL-4 is required in BALB/c mice for the differentiation of Th cells into Th2 cells. Anti-IL-4 had to be present during the first 2 wk of infection to have this effect. Anti-IL-4 caused a marked shift from a Th2 to a Th1 pattern of cytokine expression within 4 days, in vivo, and injections of IL-4 had the opposite effect on the early response in healer C3H/HeN mice. These findings demonstrate that IL-4 can induce the development of Th2 response to L. major infection in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, DNAX Research Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Palo Alto, CA 94304.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chatelain
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Varkila
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Coffman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005260:Female; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000502:physiology; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000502:physiology*; D007895:Leishmania tropica / Q000276:immunology*; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma