Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Isolation and Th17 Differentiation of Naïve CD4 T Lymphocytes
Published on: September 26, 2013
IL-18 and IL-33 elicit Th2 cytokines from basophils via a MyD88- and p38alpha-dependent pathway
Kelly M Kroeger1, Brandon M Sullivan, Richard M Locksley
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Departments of Medicine and Microbiology/Immunology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Abstract:
IL-4 and IL-13 are instrumental in the development and progression of allergy and atopic disease. Basophils represent a key source of these cytokines and produce IL-4 and IL-13 when stimulated with IL-18, a member of the IL-1 family of cytokines. Comparative analyses of the effects of caspase-1-dependent IL-1 family cytokines on basophil IL-4 and IL-13 production have not been performed, and the signaling pathway proteins required for FcepsilonRI-independent Th2 cytokine production from basophils remain incompletely defined. Using mouse bone marrow-derived cultured basophils, we found that IL-4 and IL-13 are produced in response to IL-18 or IL-33 stimulation. IL-18- or IL-33-mediated Th2 cytokine production is dependent on MyD88 and p38alpha signaling proteins. In addition, basophil survival increased in the presence of IL-18 or IL-33 as a result of increased Akt activation. Studies in vivo confirmed the potency of IL-18 and IL-33 in activating cytokine release from mouse basophils.
Related Concept Videos
T Cell Types and Functions
Th1 cells stimulate dendritic cells to express necessary co-stimulatory molecules on their surfaces for...
The JAK-STAT Signaling Pathway
Differentiation of Common Myeloid Progenitor Cells
TGF - β Signaling Pathway
NF-κB-dependent Signaling Pathway
NF-κB-dependent Signaling Mechanism
The heterodimer of NF-κB...
T Cell Activation and Clonal Selection
Naive T cells that have not yet encountered an antigen express two primary CD...

