| First Author | Maerten P | Year | 2005 |
| Journal | J Autoimmun | Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | 112-20 |
| PubMed ID | 16051465 | Mgi Jnum | J:102760 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3608042 | Doi | 10.1016/j.jaut.2005.04.001 |
| Citation | Maerten P, et al. (2005) Effects of interleukin 4 on CD25+CD4+ regulatory T cell function. J Autoimmun 25(2):112-20 |
| abstractText | CD25+CD4+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) contribute to the maintenance of peripheral tolerance against self and non-self. The modulatory effects of cytokines, such as interleukin 4 (IL-4) on the function of Tregs have not been explored in detail. We here report that IL-4 prevents spontaneous apoptosis and the decline of foxp3 mRNA which were found to occur during culture of isolated Tregs. Tregs exposed to IL-4 were more potent in suppressing the proliferation of naive CD4+ T cells and they better inhibited IFN-gamma production by CD4+ T cells as compared to Tregs cultured in medium. IL-4 also enhanced membrane IL-2Ralpha (CD25) expression on Tregs above the levels observed on freshly isolated cells. IL-4-mediated effects on Treg function persisted in Tregs from Stat6-/- mice, pointing to a Stat6-independent intracellular transduction pathway. In conclusion, our data suggest that the anti-inflammatory function of IL-4 could partly be mediated by effects on Tregs function. |
