[Levels of interleukin-4 (IL-4) in lymphocyte cultures of subjects with HIV-1 infection]

The authors report IL-4 levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), stimulated with MoAb anti-CD3, in subjects with HIV-1 infection, classified according to the criteria of Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in various stages. The results "in vitro" have indicate that PBMC IL-4 levels were in normal range also in advanced stages of retroviral infection, and were correlated to low levels of CD4+ lymphocytes and, sometimes, to high levels of IgE immunoglobulins. The normality of IL-4 levels in advanced stages or in presence of decreased CD4+ cells, suggests that the production of this cytokine is also present in other subsets of mononuclear cells not involved in this infection. Moreover the presence of significant correlation between high levels of Ig E and IL-4 suggests a possible pathogenetic role of IL-4 in the determination of isotypic switch of this immunoglobulin.