Ml. Santiago et al., INTERLEUKIN-4 PROTECTS AGAINST A GENETICALLY LINKED LUPUS-LIKE AUTOIMMUNE SYNDROME, The Journal of experimental medicine, 185(1), 1997, pp. 65-70
Interleukin-4 (IL-4) provides support for humoral immune responses thr
ough upregulation of T helper (Th) type 2 cell differentiation, but it
is not known whether IL-4 promotes antibody-mediated autoimmune disea
ses such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Here, we show that the
constitutive expression of an IL-4 transgene by B cells completely ly
prevents the development of lethal lupus-like glomerulonephritis in t
he (NZW x C57BL/6.Yaa)F1 murine model of SLE. This was associated with
marked changes in the serum levels of IgG subclasses, rather than in
the total levels of anti-DNA antibodies, with a lack of IgG3, a decrea
se of IgG2a, and an increase in IgG1 subclasses, and by a strong reduc
tion in the serum levels of gp70-anti-gp70 immune complexes. This effe
ct of the transgene appears to result from a modulation of the Th1 ver
sus Th2 autoimmune response, since the protected mice displayed compar
ably modified IgG2a and IgG3 antibody response against exogenous T cel
l-dependent antigen, but not against T cell-independent antigens. Thus
, IL-4 prevents the development of this lupuslike autoimmune disease,
most likely by downregulating the appearance of Th1-mediated IgG subcl
asses of autoantibodies such as the IgG3 autoantibodies which have bee
n shown to be especially nephritogenic.