IL-4 Induces In Vivo Production of IFN-γ by NK and NKT Cells

Abstract

Although IL-4 and IFN-γ often have opposite effects and suppress each other’s production by T cells, IL-4 can stimulate IFN-γ production. To characterize this, we injected mice with IL-4 and quantified IFN-γ production with the in vivo cytokine capture assay. IL-4 induced Stat6-dependent IFN-γ production by NK and, to a lesser extent, NKT cells, but not conventional T cells, in 2–4 h. Increased IFN-γ production persisted at a constant rate for >24 h, but eventually declined, even with continuing IL-4 stimulation. This eventual decline in IFN-γ production was accompanied by a decrease in NK and T cell numbers. Consistent with a dominant role for NK cells in IL-4-stimulated IFN-γ secretion, IL-4 induction of IFN-γ was B and T cell-independent; suppressed by an anti-IL-2Rβ mAb that eliminates most NK and NKT cells; reduced in Stat4-deficient mice, which have decreased numbers of NK cells; and absent in Rag2/γc-double-deficient mice, which lack T, B, and NK cells. IL-4-induced IFN-γ production was not affected by neutralizing IL-12p40 and was increased by neutralizing IL-2. IL-13, which signals through the type 2 IL-4R and mimics many IL-4 effects, failed to stimulate IFN-γ production and, in most experiments, suppressed basal IFN-γ production. Thus, IL-4, acting through the type 1 IL-4R, induces Stat6-dependent IFN-γ secretion by NK and NKT cells. This explains how IL-4 can contribute to Th1 cytokine-associated immune effector functions and suggests how IL-13 can have stronger proallergic effects than IL-4.