Premium
Interleukin‐4 and Interferon‐γ: The Quintessence of a Mutual Antagonistic Relationship
Author(s) -
Søren R Paludan
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.934
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3083
pISSN - 0300-9475
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3083.1998.00435.x
Subject(s) - microbiology and biotechnology , effector , biology , immune system , interferon gamma , receptor , cellular differentiation , immunology , genetics , gene
The two cytokines interleukin (IL)‐4 and interferon (IFN)‐γ play major roles in the generation and regulation of immune responses. Central in this respect is their mutually antagonistic functions. First, IL‐4 promotes T helper cell type 2 (Th2) differentiation and stability and inhibits Th1‐cell differentiation. A direct role of IFN‐γ in Th1‐cell differentiation is debatable, whereas inhibition of Th2‐cell differentiation and roles in Th1‐cell stabilization are well established functions of IFN‐γ. Secondly, IL‐4 and IFN‐γ also affect antibody class switch and expression of Fc receptors differentially, which strongly affect the effector mechanisms following antibody production. Thirdly, macrophage activities induced or enhanced by IFN‐γ, such as expression of certain cytokines, surface molecules and enzymes, are antagonized by IL‐4. Together, these functions of IL‐4 and IFN‐γ place the two cytokines at cardinal positions in the regulation of immune reactions. In this review the known molecular mechanisms underlying the observed functions of IL‐4 and IFN‐γ are presented and discussed.