Abstract
Purpose: Thoracic irradiation injures lung parenchyma, triggering inflammation and immune cell activation, leading to pneumonitis and fibrosis. Macrophage polarization contributes to these processes. Since IL-4 promotes pro-fibrotic macrophage activation, its role in radiation-induced lung injury was investigated.
Materials and methods: Lung macrophage subpopulations were characterized from 3–26 weeks following exposure of WT and IL-4−/− mice to 0 or 12.5 Gray single dose thoracic irradiation.
Results: Loss of IL-4 did not prevent fibrosis, but blunted macrophage accumulation within the parenchyma. At 3 weeks following exposure, cell numbers and expression of F4/80 and CD206, an alternative activation marker, decreased in alveolar macrophages but increased in infiltrating macrophages in WT mice. Loss of IL-4 impaired recovery of these markers in alveolar macrophages and blunted expansion of these populations in infiltrating macrophages. CD206+ cells were evident in fibrotic regions of WT mice only, however Arg-1+ cells increased in fibrotic regions in IL-4−/− mice only. Radiation-induced proinflammatory Ly6C expression was more apparent in alveolar and interstitial macrophages from IL-4−/− mice.
Conclusions: IL-4 loss did not prevent alternative macrophage activation and fibrosis in irradiated mice. Instead, a role is indicated for IL-4 in maintenance of macrophage populations in the lung following high single dose thoracic irradiation.
Disclosure statement
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are response for the content and writing of the paper.
Funding
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute,10.13039/100000050 [ES T32 07026]; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 10.13039/100000060 [R01 AI101732-01, U19AI091036]; National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 10.13039/100000066 [P30 ES-01247].