Environmental antigen-induced IL-13 responses are elevated among subjects with allergic rhinitis, are independent of IL-4, and are inhibited by endogenous IFN-gamma synthesis

Human immediate hypersensitivity diseases represent the most common example of chronic excessive Th2-like activation in developed nations. While IL-13 shares many functional properties with IL-4, the intensity and regulation of environmental Ag-stimulated IL-13 synthesis by allergic vs nonallergic individuals remain ill defined. Here, we examine the intensity of polyclonally and Ag-stimulated IL-13 production by PBMC of 20 subjects with seasonal allergic rhinitis and 20 healthy controls. Polyclonally driven IL-13 responses did not differ significantly (Mann-Whitney U test, p = 0.68). In contrast, the median CD4-dependent IL-13 response among atopics was markedly stronger than nonatopics in Ag-stimulated primary culture (p = 0.0031) and exhibited a strong correlation with IL-5 (r = 0.76, p = 0.0009), but not IL-4 (r = 0.14, p > 0.05), responses. IL-13 production was unaffected by blocking endogenous IL-4 or IL-5 activity or by addition of rIL-4 or rIL-5. In contrast, it was inhibited by low levels of rIFN-gamma and strongly enhanced upon addition of neutralizing anti-IFN-gamma mAb. Collectively, the data are consistent with a negative regulatory role for endogenous IFN-gamma synthesis in controlling the intensity of systemic IL-13 responses evoked in both atopic and nonatopic populations following exposure to common Ags. They also suggest that the elevated levels of IL-4 and IL-5 characteristic of type 2-dominated responses in vivo are without detectable impact on the maintenance of recall Ag-stimulated IL-13 production.