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From the * Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Temple University School of Medicine,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19140; the Interleukin (IL)-12 is a monocyte- and macrophage-derived cytokine that plays a crucial role
in both the innate and the acquired immune response. In this study, we examined the effects
that ligating specific macrophage receptors had on the induction of IL-12 by lipopolysaccharide
(LPS). We report that ligation of the macrophage Fc
Department of Pediatrics, Cornell University Medical
College, New York,10021; and the § Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Immunology, Rockefeller
University, New York, 10021
, complement, or scavenger receptors inhibited the induction of IL-12 by LPS. Both mRNA synthesis and protein secretion were diminished to near-undetectable levels following receptor ligation. Suppression was specific to
IL-12 since IL-10 and tumor necrosis factor-
(TNF-
) production were not inhibited by ligating macrophage receptors. The results of several different experimental approaches suggest
that IL-12 downregulation was due to extracellular calcium influxes that resulted from receptor
ligation. First, preventing extracellular calcium influxes, by performing the assays in EGTA, abrogated Fc
R-mediated IL-12(p40) mRNA suppression. Second, exposure of macrophages to
the calcium ionophores, ionomycin or A23187, mimicked receptor ligation and inhibited
IL-12(p40) mRNA induction by LPS. Finally, bone marrow-derived macrophages from FcR
chain-deficient mice, which fail to flux calcium after receptor ligation, failed to inhibit IL-12(p40)
mRNA induction. These results indicate that the calcium influxes that occur as a result of receptor ligation are responsible for inhibiting the induction of IL-12 by LPS. Hence, the ligation of
phagocytic receptors on macrophages can lead to a dramatic decrease in IL-12 induction. This
downregulation may be a way of limiting proinflammatory responses of macrophages to extracellular pathogens, or suppressing the development of cell-mediated immunity to intracellular
pathogens.
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