| First Author | Inoue Y | Year | 2001 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 167 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | 1125-8 |
| PubMed ID | 11441125 | Mgi Jnum | J:106687 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3619207 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.167.2.1125 |
| Citation | Inoue Y, et al. (2001) Failure to induce neonatal tolerance in mice that lack both IL-4 and IL-13 but not in those that lack IL-4 alone. J Immunol 167(2):1125-8 |
| abstractText | Current evidence suggests that neonatal tolerance to a foreign Ag is the consequence of IL-4-mediated Th2 immunity rather than the thymic deletion of Ag-specific T cells. Here, we addressed the role of IL-4 in neonatal tolerance by testing whether tolerance to a minor histocompatibility Ag can be induced in newborn mice that lack IL-4 (IL-4(-/-)). We found that IL-4 does not play a dominant role in the induction of neonatal tolerance as newborn female IL-4(-/-) mice could be readily tolerized to the H-Y male Ag. In contrast, mice that lack both IL-4 and IL-13 (IL-4(-/-)/IL-13(-/-)) were resistant to the induction of neonatal tolerance, and their splenocytes produced exaggerated amounts of IFN-gamma on rechallenge with the same Ag encountered during the neonatal period. These findings argue against the view that IL-4 alone is critical for the induction of neonatal tolerance and suggest that the combined actions of both IL-4 and IL-13 are essential for this process. |
