title: Interleukin-4- and interleukin-13-mediated alternatively activated macrophages: roles in homeostasis and disease.
abstract: The macrophage, a versatile cell type prominently involved in host defense and immunity, assumes a distinct state of alternative activation in the context of polarized type 2 immune responses such as allergic inflammation and helminth infection. This alternatively activated phenotype is induced by the canonical type 2 cytokines interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13, which mediate expression of several characteristic markers along with a dramatic shift in macrophage metabolic pathways that influence surrounding cells and tissues. We discuss recent advances in the understanding of IL-4- and IL-13-mediated alternatively activated macrophages and type 2 immune responses; such advances have led to an expanded appreciation for functions of these cells beyond immunity, including maintenance of physiologic homeostasis and tissue repair.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine and Microbiology & Immunology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, California 94143, USA.
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Van Dyken
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Locksley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018926:Anti-Allergic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000494:pharmacology; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D018793:Interleukin-13 / Q000502:physiology*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000502:physiology*; D008262:Macrophage Activation / Q000276:immunology*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D018926:Anti-Allergic Agents; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; C578095:IL13 protein, human; C508598:IL4 protein, human; D018793:Interleukin-13; D015847:Interleukin-4