Interleukin 13 elicits a subset of the activities of its close relative interleukin 4

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Abstract
Interleukin 13 (IL‐13) and interleukin 4 (IL‐4) are two closely related proteins produced by activated T cells. IL‐4 is a well characterized mediator of various aspects of the immune response, including anti‐inflammatory effects on monocytes and macrophages, regulation of B cell function, T cell growth, and regulation of adhesion molecule expression on endothelial cells. IL‐13, a more recently characterized cytokine, appears to exhibit IL‐4‐like activities on monocytes, macrophages and human B cells, but has no effect on T cells. While there is a close parallel between IL‐4 activities on human and mouse cells, IL‐13 activities in these two systems appear to differ substantially with a notable absence of effect on mouse B cells. This review briefly summarizes the current state of knowledge of the interrelated activities of IL‐13 and IL‐4, explores the basis of these effects at the receptor level and attempts to rationalize the existence of these close relatives via differences in their production by T cells.