title: Interleukin-4 and -13 inhibit tumor necrosis factor-alpha mRNA translational activation in lipopolysaccharide-induced mouse macrophages.
abstract: The production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages can be markedly inhibited by the two closely related cytokines, interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13. To investigate the molecular mechanism of this inhibition, we analyzed the effect of the two cytokines on TNF-alpha production and TNF-alpha mRNA accumulation in the mouse macrophage cell lines RAW 264.7 and J774 stimulated by LPS. Whereas LPS-induced TNF-alpha production is strongly suppressed by both cytokines, TNF-alpha mRNA accumulation is not significantly affected, indicating that IL-4 and IL-13 induce a translational repression of TNF-alpha mRNA. Transfection of reporter gene constructs containing different regions of the TNF-alpha gene revealed that the inhibitory action of IL-4 and IL-13 is mediated by the UA-rich sequence present in the TNF-alpha mRNA 3'-untranslated region.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Chimie Biologique, Département de Biologie Moléculaire, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 1640 Rhode Saint Genèse, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mijatovic
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kruys
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Caput
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Defrance
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Huez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D018793:Interleukin-13 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008262:Macrophage Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008264:Macrophages / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015533:Transcriptional Activation / Q000187:drug effects*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D018793:Interleukin-13; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D015847:Interleukin-4