Inflammatory bowel diseases are associated with dysregulated inflammatory immune responses in the gastrointestinal tract. We found that deficiencies of both IL-4 receptor alpha chain (IL-4Rα) and IL-10 in BALB/c mice (IL-4Rα × IL-10 KO mice) highly induced spontaneous rectal prolapse and diarrhea. These mice also exhibited severe colitis in their cecum and colon and marked elevation of serum proinflammatory cytokines including TNFα and IFNγ. These pathologies were transmittable with their cecal contents containing Helicobacter spp. Their mesenteric LN cells produced TNFα and IFNγ in response to soluble H. hepaticus antigens and high titers of H. hepaticus-specific serum IgG were also detected. These results suggested the important function of IL-4Rα signaling in controlling the intestinal inflammation and the susceptibility to intestinal microbes including H. hepaticus. Therefore, these IL-4Rα × IL-10 KO mice potentially provide the significant murine model for clarifying the causes and control of spontaneous colitis and intestinal inflammation.

炎症性肠病与胃肠道炎症免疫反应失调有关。我们发现 BALB/c 小鼠（IL-4Rα × IL-10 KO 小鼠）中 IL-4 受体 α 链（IL-4Rα）和 IL-10 的缺陷高度诱发自发性直肠脱垂和腹泻。这些小鼠的盲肠和结肠还表现出严重的结肠炎，并且血清促炎细胞因子（包括 TNFα 和 IFNγ）显着升高。这些病变可通过其盲肠内容物含有螺杆菌进行传播。他们的肠系膜 LN 细胞响应可溶性肝螺杆菌抗原而产生 TNFα 和 IFNγ，并且还检测到高滴度的肝螺杆菌特异性血清 IgG。这些结果表明IL-4Rα信号在控制肠道炎症和对包括肝螺杆菌在内的肠道微生物的易感性方面具有重要作用。因此，这些 IL-4Rα × IL-10 KO 小鼠可能为阐明自发性结肠炎和肠道炎症的原因和控制提供重要的小鼠模型。