title: Interleukin-4 mediates cell growth inhibition through activation of Stat1.
abstract: Interleukin-4 (IL-4) activates Stat6 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 6) and plays multiple roles in regulation of the immune system. IL-4 also triggers phosphorylation of insulin receptor substrate (IRS), leading to stimulation of cell growth. Moreover, IL-4 inhibits proliferation of a variety of cells, but the molecular mechanism of its growth inhibitory effect is not understood. In this study, we demonstrated that IL-4 inhibited cell growth of colon carcinoma cell lines (HT29 and WiDr) but promoted cell growth of Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines (BL30 and BL41) in a dose-dependent manner. The growth inhibition was not dependent on Stat6 activation, because Stat6 was activated at similar levels in all cell lines in response to IL-4. Strikingly, IL-4 activated Stat1 in colon carcinoma cell lines but not in Burkitt's lymphoma cell lines. Therefore, these results suggest that IL-4 induced Stat1 activation, resulting in growth inhibition of colon carcinoma cell lines. Importantly, we present evidence that Stat1 is necessary for IL-4-mediated growth inhibition using Stat1-deficient and Stat1-reconstituted cells. The growth inhibitory effect of IL-4 was diminished in Stat1-deficient cells, whereas it was restored in Stat1-reconstituted cells. In addition, the expression of dominant-negative Stat1 in HT29 cells led to the loss of growth inhibition in response to IL-4. Taken together, our data suggest that IL-4 activates Stat1, leading to cell growth inhibition in colon cancer cells. Thus, this study demonstrates, for the first time, a molecular mechanism by which IL-4 inhibits cell growth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8023, USA.
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: X Y
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Fu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002051:Burkitt Lymphoma; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D050794:STAT1 Transcription Factor; D050800:STAT6 Transcription Factor; D013936:Thymidine / Q000378:metabolism; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000378:metabolism*; D014162:Transfection; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D050794:STAT1 Transcription Factor; C494079:STAT1 protein, human; D050800:STAT6 Transcription Factor; C494101:STAT6 protein, human; C494080:Stat1 protein, mouse; C494100:Stat6 protein, mouse; D015534:Trans-Activators; D015847:Interleukin-4; D013936:Thymidine