Glucocorticoids suppress the production of interleukin 4 by human lymphocytes.

Given that glucocorticoids (GCS) were reported to increase the production of interleukin 4 (IL4) by mouse T cells and that GCS are widely used to treat allergic diseases it was important to examine the effect of these agents on IL4 production by human lymphocytes. We here demonstrate that the production of IL4 by human lymphocytes is markedly inhibited by small concentrations of hydrocortisone. The suppression is observed at the protein and at the mRNA levels and it is not secondary to the GCS-induced inhibition of IL2 production.