We evaluated whether IL-4, a cytokine critical for inducing allergic responses, also contributes to the effector phase of allergy. Pretreatment of mice with IL-4 or the related cytokine, IL-13, rapidly and dramatically increased the severity of anaphylaxis induced by cross-linking Fc(epsilon)RI or FcgammaRIII. This effect was inhibited by endogenously produced IFN-gamma, was T cell-, B cell-, a...

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has a key role in angiogene-sis and in transplantation. The level of VEGF is related to the differences in the DNA sequence of its promoter region. Objectives: In this study, the association between the combination of VEGF –1154 G and –2578 C alleles and VEGF production by LPS-stimulated PBMCs was investigated. In addition; the relationship ...