IL-13 induces airways hyperreactivity independently of the IL-4Rα chain in the allergic lung

J Mattes, M Yang, A Siqueira, K Clark… - The Journal of …, 2001 - journals.aai.org
J Mattes, M Yang, A Siqueira, K Clark, J MacKenzie, ANJ McKenzie, DC Webb, KI Matthaei…
The Journal of Immunology, 2001journals.aai.org
The potent spasmogenic properties of IL-13 have identified this molecule as a potential
regulator of airways hyperreactivity (AHR) in asthma. Although IL-13 is thought to primarily
signal through the IL-13Rα1-IL-4Rα complex, the cellular and molecular components
employed by this cytokine to induce AHR in the allergic lung have not been identified. By
transferring OVA-specific CD4+ T cells that were wild type (IL-13+/+ T cells) or deficient in IL-
13 (IL-13−/− T cells) to nonsensitized mice that were then challenged with OVA aerosol, we …
Abstract
The potent spasmogenic properties of IL-13 have identified this molecule as a potential regulator of airways hyperreactivity (AHR) in asthma. Although IL-13 is thought to primarily signal through the IL-13Rα1-IL-4Rα complex, the cellular and molecular components employed by this cytokine to induce AHR in the allergic lung have not been identified. By transferring OVA-specific CD4+ T cells that were wild type (IL-13+/+ T cells) or deficient in IL-13 (IL-13−/− T cells) to nonsensitized mice that were then challenged with OVA aerosol, we show that T cell-derived IL-13 plays a key role in regulating AHR, mucus hypersecretion, eotaxin production, and eosinophilia in the allergic lung. Moreover, IL-13+/+ T cells induce these features (except mucus production) of allergic disease independently of the IL-4Rα chain. By contrast, IL-13+/+ T cells did not induce disease in STAT6-deficient mice. This shows that IL-13 employs a novel component of the IL-13 receptor signaling system that involves STAT6, independently of the IL-4Rα chain, to modulate pathogenesis. We show that this novel pathway for IL-13 signaling is dependent on T cell activation in the lung and is critically linked to downstream effector pathways regulated by eotaxin and STAT6.
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