Interleukin-4 bias differentiation of Trypanosoma cruzi-infected mice B cells to the memory pathway and restrains their fratricide: Fas ligand down-regulation and class II-transactivator up-regulation

ACOSTA RODRIGUEZ EV; ZUÑIGA EI; MONTES CL; GRUPPI A

JOURNAL OF LEUKOCYTE BIOLOGY

Año: 2003 p. 127 - 127

0741-5400

b> In the present work, we demonstrate that interleukin (IL)-4 is able to rescue B cells from Trypanosoma cruzi-infected mice, counteracting the strong apoptotic signals that these cells received in vivo. We have observed that IL-4 restrains the apoptosis of immunoglobulin (Ig)M and IgG B cells from infected and normal mice without inducing them to proliferate. In addition, IL-4 does not modify the quantity or quality of the antibodies secreted by B cells from infected mice, as it blocks their terminal differentiation to plasma cells and favors memory pathway. It is interesting that the protective effect of IL-4 over B cells from infected mice is mediated, at le