November 1, 1991Science1,255 citations
Generation and Analysis of Interleukin-4 Deficient Mice
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Key Points
- To evaluate the necessity of interleukin-4 (IL-4) for immune system functions in vivo.
- Generated mice homozygous for a mutation inactivating the IL-4 gene.
- Assessed T and B cell development in mutant mice.
- Measured serum levels of immunoglobulin IgG1 and IgE upon nematode infection.
- Serum levels of IgG1 and IgE were strongly reduced in IL-4 deficient mice.
- Normal T and B cell development observed despite IL-4 deficiency.
- IgG1 dominance in T cell-dependent immune response was lost and IgE undetectable after nematode infection.
Abstract
Interleukin-4 (IL-4) promotes the growth and differentiation of many hematopoietic cells in vitro; in particular, it directs the immunoglobulin (Ig) class switch to IgG1 and IgE. Mice homozygous for a mutation that inactivates the IL-4 gene were generated to test the requirement for IL-4 in vivo. In the mutant mice T and B cell development was normal, but the serum levels of IgG1 and IgE were strongly reduced. The IgG1 dominance in a T cell-dependent immune response was lost, and IgE was not detectable upon nematode infection. Thus, some but not all of the in vitro properties of IL-4 are critical for the physiology of the immune system in vivo.
Cite This Study
Kühn et al. (1991) studied this question.