ISSN:
1573-2592
Keywords:
IL-4
;
cytokine regulation
;
CD4+ helper T cells
;
memory
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract Previous studies have shown that the presence of IL-4 is required for the development of IL-4 synthesis in naive CD4+ T cells. The purpose of our current studies was to investigate the role of IL-4 in the development of IL-4 synthesis in primed memory T cells. We therefore examined CD4+ T cells taken from lymph nodes of BALB/c mice immunized with keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) and restimulatedin vitro with KLH. Our results with such primed resting CD4+ T cells programmed to produce IL-4 indicated that the production of IL-4 did not require the presence of IL-4 (although the presence of IL-2 was absolutely necessary), and was only slightly limited by the presence of anti-IL-4 MAb. These results with resting memory T cells were not biased by the presence of activated T cells already producing substantial quantities of IL-4, since we demonstrated that high-density memory T cells could produce IL-4 in the absence of IL-4, and because T cells that actively produce IL-4 do not persistin vivo very long after antigen exposure. These results indicate that IL-4 synthesis in T cells committed to IL-4 production can indeed occur in the absence of IL-4 when culture conditions have been optimized and suggest that therapies with anti-IL-4 MAb or with soluble IL-4 receptors designed to control the development of IL-4 synthesis in memory T cells from individuals exhibiting excessive IL-4 synthesis will be unsuccessful. Therefore, other therapies, for example, utilizing IL-12, will be required to modulate the relatively fixed programs in memory T cells that direct the development of cytokine synthesis.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01541738
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