IL-13 is a multifunctional lymphokine sharing a number of biological properties with IL-4. We previously observed that IL-4 shows angiogenic activities in vitro as well as in vivo. In this study we examined the effect of IL-13 on angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo and also the underlying mechanisms. Human IL-13 significantly stimulated the formation of tube-like structures in collagen gels by hu...

Interleukin-13 (IL-13) is a cytokine produced primarily by activated T lymphocytes. It exerts a variety of effects on different cell types, including monocytes, B lymphocytes, mast cells, and keratinocytes. The effects of IL-13 on target cells are often similar to the effects of IL-4, which is another cytokine product of activated T lymphocytes. We recently described the expression of intermedi...

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) is an emerging disease associated with both food and respiratory allergy characterized by extensive esophageal tissue remodeling and abnormal esophageal gene expression, including increased IL-13. We investigated the ability of increased airway IL-13 to induce EE-like changes. Mice with pulmonary (but not esophageal) overexpression of IL-13 evidenced esophageal IL-...

The interleukin-13 receptor (IL-13R) complex is composed of 2 different chains, IL-13Ralpha1 (also known as IL-13Ralpha') and IL-13Ralpha2 (also known as IL-13Ralpha). For a functional IL-13 receptor, the IL-13Ralpha1 chain forms a productive complex with the primary IL-4 binding protein (IL-4Ralpha also known as IL-4Rbeta). However, the function of the IL-13Ralpha2 chain is not clear even thou...

IL-13 and IL-4 are central T helper 2 (Th2) cytokines in the immune system and potent activators of inflammatory responses and fibrosis during Th2 inflammation. Recent studies using Il13ra1(-/-) mice have demonstrated a critical role for IL-13 receptor (IL-13R) alpha1 in allergen-induced airway responses. However, these observations require further attention especially because IL-4 can induce s...

Recently, we described the cloning and expression of a human cDNA which is the homologue to P600, a gene transcribed by mouse Th2 clones. Based on its activities on human monocytes and B cells this gene was designated IL-13. In the present study we investigated the effects of IL-13 alone or in combination with IL-4, IFN-gamma, or IL-10 on human monocytes. IL-13 induced significant changes in th...

The development of airways hyperreactivity in allergic IL-13(-/-) mice is controversial and appears to correlate with the number of times that the original 129 x C57BL/6 founder strain has been crossed to the BALB/c background. In this investigation, we compared allergic responses in founder IL-13(-/-) mice crossed for either 5 (N5) or 10 (N10) generations to BALB/c mice. Whereas allergic N5 IL...

AIM To identify and characterize the subunit structure of interleukin-13 receptor (IL-13R) in human medulloblastoma cell lines and target them with a chimeric fusion protein consisting of interleukin-13 and Pseudomonas exotoxin (termed as IL-13 cytotoxin). METHODS Five human medulloblastoma cell lines were examined for the expression of IL-13R subunits at the mRNA and protein levels by revers...