IL-5 plays important roles in eosinophil differentiation, expansion, and recruitment. The regulation of
IL-5 seems critical for the treatment of eosinophil-mediated
allergic reactions. However, the precise mechanisms for
IL-5 regulation remain unknown. In this study, we investigated how
IL-5 production is regulated. The transduction of GATA-3 into a murine T cell hybridoma resulted in acquiring the ability to produce
IL-5 in response to an antigenic stimulus like Th2 cells. This production was dependent on the cAMP-PKA pathway, but not on p38 activation. Transduction of NIK largely impaired
IL-5 production. RelA and RelB similarly impaired
IL-5 production. RelA decreased not only
IL-5 protein amount but
mRNA. RelA also inhibited Il5-luciferase reporter activity. The transduction of GATA-3 decreased the expression of Tbx21 and Eomes, but the additional transduction of RelA abrogated the decreased expression of GATA-3-induced Tbx21 and Eomes. Furthermore, the transduction of T-bet or Eomes into the GATA-3-transduced T cell hybridoma impaired
IL-5 production. These results suggested that strong enhancement of the NFκB pathway downregulates
IL-5 production and upregulates T-box
protein expression to shift an immune response from Th2 to inflammatory Th1.