Open AccessA role for IL‐4 in immunologically mediated enteropathy
Author(s) -
MOWAT A. MCI.,
WIDMER M. B.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
clinical & experimental immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.329
H-Index - 135
eISSN - 1365-2249
pISSN - 0009-9104
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2249.1995.tb03473.x
Subject(s) - intraepithelial lymphocyte , immunology , cytokine , enteropathy , immunopathology , hyperplasia , immune system , biology , medicine , pathology , disease
SUMMARY A number of clinical enteropathies are associated with a local cell‐mediated immune (CMI) response, and experimental evidence indicates that cytokines are responsible for the intestinal pathology. We show here that depletion of IL‐4 using MoAb or a soluble form of the IL‐4 receptor (IL‐4R) prevents the jejunal manifestations of a proliferative form of murine graft‐ versus ‐host reaction (GVHR) characterized by crypt hyperplasia and recruitment of intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL). Depletion of IL‐4 did not prevent the appearance of villus atrophy in a destructive model of GVHR, and had no effect on any indices of systemic immunity. These results indicate that IL‐4 may play a selective role in mediating proliferative aspects of intestinal immunopathology, and suggest that this cytokine may provide a useful target for immunotherapy.