Brodie C, Goldreich N, Haiman T, Kazimirsky G
Department of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel.
J Neuroimmunol. 1998 Jan;81(1-2):20-30. doi: 10.1016/s0165-5728(97)00154-9.
IL-4 is a Th2-derived cytokine which plays an important role in the function of various immunocompetent cells as well as in the pathophysiology of various CNS disorders. In this study we characterized the expression of IL-4R in cultured astrocytes and explored the effects of IL-4 on the function of these cells. We found that astrocytes express the mRNA of both the membrane-bound and the soluble forms of the IL-4R, whereas they do not secrete IL-4. IL-4 inhibited both NO production and iNOS expression induced by LPS stimulation and decreased the secretion of TNF-alpha and the expression of ICAM-1. In contrast, IL-4 induced the secretion of NGF by astrocytes and synergized with LPS and TNF-alpha in this effect. These results suggest an important role for IL-4 as an immunosuppressive and a neurotrophic factor in the CNS.
白细胞介素-4是一种由辅助性T细胞2（Th2）产生的细胞因子，它在各种免疫活性细胞的功能以及各种中枢神经系统疾病的病理生理学中发挥着重要作用。在本研究中，我们对培养的星形胶质细胞中白细胞介素-4受体（IL-4R）的表达进行了表征，并探讨了白细胞介素-4对这些细胞功能的影响。我们发现星形胶质细胞表达膜结合型和可溶性白细胞介素-4受体的信使核糖核酸（mRNA），而它们不分泌白细胞介素-4。白细胞介素-4抑制脂多糖（LPS）刺激诱导的一氧化氮（NO）生成和诱导型一氧化氮合酶（iNOS）表达，并减少肿瘤坏死因子-α（TNF-α）的分泌和细胞间黏附分子-1（ICAM-1）的表达。相反，白细胞介素-4诱导星形胶质细胞分泌神经生长因子（NGF），并在这一效应中与LPS和TNF-α协同作用。这些结果表明白细胞介素-4作为中枢神经系统中的一种免疫抑制和神经营养因子具有重要作用。
