| First Author | Bancroft AJ | Year | 1998 |
| Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 160 |
| Issue | 7 | Pages | 3453-61 |
| PubMed ID | 9531306 | Mgi Jnum | J:111618 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3654584 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.160.7.3453 |
| Citation | Bancroft AJ, et al. (1998) A critical role for IL-13 in resistance to intestinal nematode infection. J Immunol 160(7):3453-61 |
| abstractText | Mice in which either the IL-4 or the IL-13 gene has been disrupted (IL-4 KO and IL-13 KO) were susceptible to infection with the intestinal nematode Trichuris muris, whereas their wild-type littermates were highly resistant and expelled the parasite. IL-4 KO mice showed diminished Th2-type responses with T. muris infection and also failed to produce parasite-specific IgG1 Abs. Although IL-13 KO mice made reduced Th2-type responses early in infection, they were capable of generating strong Th2-type responses at later time points and were unable to regulate the magnitude of their Ab isotype response. These results confirm the importance of IL-4 in resistance to T. muris and provide the first demonstration of an important role for IL-13 in resistance to helminth infection. The IL-13 KO mouse had a separate phenotype to that of the IL-4 KO mouse, suggesting that both IL-4 and IL-13 play important yet different roles in mediating immunity to intestinal helminths. |
