IL-4 suppresses cytokine gene expression induced by IFN-gamma and/or IL-2 in murine peritoneal macrophages.

The effect of IL-4 on inflammatory gene expression in murine peritoneal macrophages stimulated with IFN-gamma in combination with IL-2 has been examined. These agents cooperatively induce the expression of mRNA for TNF-alpha and IP-10. Murine rIL-4 suppresses cytokine mRNA expression depending on the stimulus used and the mRNA being measured. Expression of TNF-alpha mRNA in macrophages stimulated with IFN-gamma, IL-2, or the combination is markedly suppressed by IL-4 whereas LPS-induced TNF-alpha mRNA is unaffected. In contrast, IP-10 mRNA expression is more sensitive to suppression by IL-4 when stimulated by LPS than by IFN-gamma/IL-2. IL-4-mediated suppression does not alter the time course of mRNA expression. Treatment of IFN-gamma/IL-2-stimulated macrophages with cycloheximide blocks the suppressive effect of IL-4, suggesting that de novo synthesis of an intermediate protein is part of the suppressive mechanism. The IL-4-mediated suppression of IFN-gamma/IL-2-driven TNF-alpha gene expression appears to be mediated at the level of transcription. These findings support a role for IL-4 as an antiinflammatory cytokine and suggest that macrophage inflammatory function will be dependent on the precise stimulus composition of the tissue microenvironment.