Interleukin-13 fusion cytotoxin arrests Schistosoma mansoni egg-induced pulmonary granuloma formation in mice

C Jakubzick, SL Kunkel, BH Joshi, RK Puri… - The American journal of …, 2002 - Elsevier
C Jakubzick, SL Kunkel, BH Joshi, RK Puri, CM Hogaboam
The American journal of pathology, 2002Elsevier
Schistosoma mansoni egg-induced lung pathology requires the actions of interleukin (IL)-4
and IL-13. Because receptors for IL-4 and IL-13 share chains, we examined the effect of a
fusion protein comprised of IL-13 and Pseudomonas exotoxin (IL13-PE) on the development
of pulmonary granulomas in mice. At day 8 after an intravenous injection of live S. mansoni
eggs, whole lung samples from IL13-PE-treated mice exhibited significantly lower IL-4 and
IL-13 gene expression, smaller granulomas, decreased collagen levels, and increased IL-13 …
Schistosoma mansoni egg-induced lung pathology requires the actions of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13. Because receptors for IL-4 and IL-13 share chains, we examined the effect of a fusion protein comprised of IL-13 and Pseudomonas exotoxin (IL13-PE) on the development of pulmonary granulomas in mice. At day 8 after an intravenous injection of live S. mansoni eggs, whole lung samples from IL13-PE-treated mice exhibited significantly lower IL-4 and IL-13 gene expression, smaller granulomas, decreased collagen levels, and increased IL-13 receptor α2 gene expression compared to controls. The therapeutic effects of IL13-PE were also observed at day 16 despite the termination of IL13-PE treatment at day 8. These studies demonstrate that targeting IL-4- and IL-13- responsive cells with IL13-PE effectively arrests S. mansoni egg granuloma formation.
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