Mao Yujia, Yin Shanshan, Zhang Jianmin, Hu Yu, Huang Bo, Cui Lianxian, Kang Ning, He Wei
Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Beijing, China.
Cell Mol Immunol. 2016 Mar;13(2):217-28. doi: 10.1038/cmi.2015.07. Epub 2015 Mar 16.
Interleukin 4 (IL-4) has a variety of immune functions, including helper T-cell (Th-cell) differentiation and innate immune-response processes. However, the impact of IL-4 on gamma delta (γδ) T cells remains unclear. In this study, we investigate the effects of IL-4 on the activation and proliferation of γδ T cells and the balance between variable delta 1 (Vδ1) and Vδ2 T cells in humans. The results show that IL-4 inhibits the activation of γδ T cells in the presence of γδ T-cell receptor (TCR) stimulation in a STAT6-dependent manner. IL-4 promoted the growth of activated γδ T cells and increased the levels of Vδ1 T cells, which in turn inhibited Vδ2 T-cell growth via significant IL-10 secretion. Vδ1 T cells secreted significantly less interferon gamma (IFNγ) and more IL-10 relative to Vδ2. Furthermore, Vδ1 T cells showed relatively low levels of Natural Killer Group 2D (NKG2D) expression in the presence of IL-4, suggesting that Vδ1 T cells weaken the γδ T cell-mediated anti-tumor immune response. For the first time, our findings demonstrate a negative regulatory role of IL-4 in γδ T cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity.
白细胞介素4(IL-4)具有多种免疫功能,包括辅助性T细胞(Th细胞)分化和先天性免疫反应过程。然而,IL-4对γδ T细胞的影响仍不清楚。在本研究中,我们调查了IL-4对人类γδ T细胞活化和增殖以及可变δ1(Vδ1)和Vδ2 T细胞之间平衡的影响。结果表明,在存在γδ T细胞受体(TCR)刺激的情况下,IL-4以STAT6依赖的方式抑制γδ T细胞的活化。IL-4促进活化的γδ T细胞生长,并增加Vδ1 T细胞水平,进而通过大量分泌IL-10抑制Vδ2 T细胞生长。相对于Vδ2,Vδ1 T细胞分泌的干扰素γ(IFNγ)明显较少,而IL-10较多。此外,在存在IL-4的情况下,Vδ1 T细胞的自然杀伤细胞2D(NKG2D)表达水平相对较低,这表明Vδ1 T细胞削弱了γδ T细胞介导的抗肿瘤免疫反应。我们的研究结果首次证明了IL-4在γδ T细胞介导的抗肿瘤免疫中的负调节作用。