A role for IL-4 in immunologically mediated enteropathy.
A number of clinical enteropathies are associated with a local cell-mediated immune (CMI) response, and experimental evidence indicates that cytokines are responsible for the intestinal pathology. We show here that depletion of IL-4 using MoAb or a soluble form of the IL-4 receptor (IL-4R) prevents the jejunal manifestations of a proliferative form of murine graft-versus-host reaction (GVHR) characterized by crypt hyperplasia and recruitment of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL). Depletion of IL-4 did not prevent the appearance of villus atrophy in a destructive model of GVHR, and had no effect on any indices of systemic immunity. These results indicate that IL-4 may play a selective role in mediating proliferative aspects of intestinal immunopathology, and suggest that this cytokine may provide a useful target for immunotherapy.
Mowat
A M
AM
Department of Immunology, University of Glasgow, Western Infirmary, UK.
Widmer
M B
MB
D000818:Animals; D006087:Graft vs Host Reaction / Q000276:immunology*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000276:immunology*; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA
D015847:Interleukin-4