1. The environmental pollutant pyrene induces the production of IL-4
Heike Bömmel, PhDa, Min Li-Weber, PhDc, Edgar Serfling, PhDb, Albert Duschl, PhDa 
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 
Volume 105, Issue 4, Pages (April 2000)
DOI: /mai
Copyright © 2000 Mosby, Inc. Terms and Conditions

2. Fig. 1
Pyrene induces secretion of IL-4 in peripheral T cells. Human PBMCs were incubated for 48 or 72 hours with indicated stimuli. Con A was applied at 2 μg/mL. Human IL-4 in supernatant was determined by ELISA. Each bar represents average value for 6 experiments performed with cells from different donors. All samples were measured in duplicate. Error bars indicate SEM.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology  , DOI: ( /mai )
Copyright © 2000 Mosby, Inc. Terms and Conditions

3. Fig. 2
IL-4 mRNA expression on pyrene stimulation in peripheral T cells. PBMCs were stimulated in 2 separate experiments with Con A or pyrene for indicated times. RNA was isolated and subsequently subjected to reverse transcription–PCR analysis with use of primers specific for human IL-4 cDNA and for human β-actin cDNA as internal control.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology  , DOI: ( /mai )
Copyright © 2000 Mosby, Inc. Terms and Conditions

4. Fig. 3
Pyrene activates the IL-4 promoter. Reporter gene constructs containing 270-bp fragment of murine or human IL-4 promoter or TATA minimal promoter alone were transiently transfected into human Jurkat (A) or murine El-4 (B) cells. Cells were stimulated for 6 hours with pyrene concentrations as indicated. Mean and SEM of typical experiment out of 3 to 8 performed in triplicate are given.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology  , DOI: ( /mai )
Copyright © 2000 Mosby, Inc. Terms and Conditions

5. Fig. 4
Different PAH have different effects on the human IL-4 promoter. The 270-bp human IL-4 promoter construct was stimulated in Jurkat cells with pyrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, or phenanthrene. Mean and SEM of a typical experiment performed in triplicate out of 2 to 8 experiments are given.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology  , DOI: ( /mai )
Copyright © 2000 Mosby, Inc. Terms and Conditions

6. Fig. 5
Possible mechanisms for proallergic effects of pyrene. 1, Synergistic enhancement of T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling. 2, Direct interaction with proteins leading to IL-4 promoter activation. 3, Synergistic enhancement of IL-4 cell receptor signaling.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology  , DOI: ( /mai )
Copyright © 2000 Mosby, Inc. Terms and Conditions