1989 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Physiological consequences of IL-5 transgene expression
Project/Area Number |
63570225
|
Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research (C)
|
Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
Research Field |
Immunology
|
Research Institution | KUMAMOTO UNIVERSITY |
Principal Investigator |
TOMINAGA Akira Kumamoto Univ. Med. Sch. Inst. for Med. Immunol. Dept. of Biology Associate Professor, 医学部・免疫研・生物学部門, 助教授 (50172193)
|
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
TAKATSU Kiyoshi Kumamoto Univ. Med. Sch. Inst. for Med. Immunol. Dept. of Biology Professor, 医学部・免疫研・生物学部門, 教授 (10107055)
|
Project Period (FY) |
1988 – 1989
|
Keywords | Interleukin 5 / Transgenic mice / Ly1^+ B cells / Eosinophils / IgM / IgA |
Research Abstract |
Interleukin 5 (IL-5) has been suggested to be involved in the growth and differentiation of eosinophils and Ly-1^+ B cells that has been considered to produce autoantibodies by in vitro experiments. To substantiate this suggested role of IL-5, we generated transgenic mice carrying the murine IL-5 gene fused with a metallothionein promoter.Transgenic mice carrying the IL-5 gene exhibited elevated levels of IL-5 in the serum and an increase in the levels of serum IgM and IgA. A massive eosinophila in bone marrow, peripheral blood, spleen, and peritoneal cavity were observed. Infiltration of liver, muscle, and lung with eosinophils were also observed. When cadmiumcontaining saline was injected intraperitoneally in these IL-5 transgenic mice, the level of IL-5 in the serum was increased about five-fold and a tremendous increase (20- to 40-fold) in the number of Ly1^+ B cells was observed in the spleen. Interesting findings in these transgenic mice was an increase in polyreactive anti-DNA antibodies in IgM fraction. It is therefore suggested that aberrant induction of the IL-5 gene may induce the accumulation of Ly1^+ B cells which produce polyreactive autoantibodies and eosinophils. This phenomena may represent the way of primary protection against microorganisms and parasites.
|