| First Author | Kühn R | Year | 1991 |
| Journal | Science | Volume | 254 |
| Issue | 5032 | Pages | 707-10 |
| PubMed ID | 1948049 | Mgi Jnum | J:704 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:49238 | Doi | 10.1126/science.1948049 |
| Citation | Kuhn R, et al. (1991) Generation and analysis of interleukin-4 deficient mice. Science 254(5032):707-10 |
| abstractText | Interleukin-4 (IL-4) promotes the growth and differentiation of many hematopoietic cells in vitro; in particular, it directs the immunoglobulin (Ig) class switch to IgG1 and IgE. Mice homozygous for a mutation that inactivates the IL-4 gene were generated to test the requirement for IL-4 in vivo. In the mutant mice T and B cell development was normal, but the serum levels of IgG1 and IgE were strongly reduced. The IgG1 dominance in a T cell-dependent immune response was lost, and IgE was not detectable upon nematode infection. Thus, some but not all of the in vitro properties of IL-4 are critical for the physiology of the immune system in vivo. |
