Modulation of pulmonary allergic responses by mucosal cytokine–gene transfer**A summary of this review was presented at the Spring Meeting of the 8th Japanese Congress of Allergology.Originally published in the Journal of Immunology 1996; 157: 3216–19. Copyright 1996. The American Association of Immunologists. This article can not be reproduced in an electronic form.

ABSTRACTRecent clinical and experimental animal studies have provided evidence for a pivotal role of T lymphocytes and Th2 cytokines in the development of allergic inflammatory responses and airway hyperreactivity. These studies suggest also that the Th2 cytokine-associated inflammatory responses are potential targets of developing novel and effective therapies. Using a novel gene-transfer approach, we investigated the role of a Th2-inhibitory cytokine, IFN-γ, in the regulation of antigen (Ag)-induced lung inflammatory response and airway hyperreactivity by transfer of the IFN-γ gene into mouse lung mucosal cells. Our results showed that mice receiving the IFN-γ gene demonstrate a lower degree of Ag- and Th2 cell-induced airway hyperresponsiveness and a reduced eosinophilia in the lung. These results provided evidence that the instillation of the IFN-γ gene into the lung is effective in modulating the allergic inflammation and bronchial hyperreactivity in an experimental animal model