Cutting Edge: IL-4 Receptor Expression by Non-Bone Marrow-Derived Cells Is Required to Expel Gastrointestinal Nematode Parasites

Abstract

Expulsion of two gastrointestinal nematode parasites, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis and Trichinella spiralis, is similar in that both require IL-4Rα expression, but different in that T cells and mast cells are required for IL-4-induced expulsion of T. spiralis but not N. brasiliensis. To examine the role of IL-4Rα signaling in immunity to these parasites, we studied worm expulsion in chimeric mice that selectively expressed IL-4Rα on bone marrow-derived or non-bone marrow-derived cells. N. brasiliensis was expelled by mice that expressed IL-4Rα only on non-bone marrow-derived cells, but not by mice that expressed IL-4Rα only on bone marrow-derived cells. Although T. spiralis expulsion required IL-4Rα expression by both bone marrow- and non-bone marrow-derived cells, IL-4 stimulation eliminated the requirement for IL-4Rα expression by bone marrow-derived cells. Thus, direct IL-4Rα signaling of nonimmune gastrointestinal cells may be generally required to induce worm expulsion, even when mast cell and T cell responses are also required.