The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology
-
J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. · Sep 2012
Allergic airway disease is unaffected by the absence of IL-4Rα-dependent alternatively activated macrophages.
Markers of alternatively activated macrophages (AAMs) are upregulated in the lungs of asthmatic patients and in mice with allergic airway disease. AAMs are thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of allergic airway disease by virtue of their decreased NO production and increased production of proline and polyamines, which are important in the synthesis of connective tissues such as collagen. ⋯ Our results suggest that the presence of AAMs in allergic airway disease may be only an association, as a result of the increased T(H)2 responses present during disease, and that IL-4Rα-dependent AAMs do not play an important role in the pathology of disease.