Phenotypic and physiologic characterization of transgenic mice expressing interleukin 4 in the lung: Lymphocytic and eosinophilic inflammation without airway hyperreactivity

摘要

To investigate the contribution of interleu- kin-4 (IL-4) to airway inflammation in vivo and to explore directly its relationship to airway reactivity, we created trans- genic mice in which the murine cDNA for IL-4 was regulated by the rat Clara cell 10 protein promoter. Expression was detected only in the lung and not in thymus, heart, liver, spleen, kidney, or uterus. The expression of IL-4 elicited hypertrophy of epithelial cells of the trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles.