Interleukin-4 receptor alpha signaling regulates monocyte homeostasis

Interleukin-4 (IL-4) and its receptors (IL-4R) promote the proliferation and polarization of macrophages. However, it is unknown if IL-4R also influences monocyte homeostasis and if steady state IL-4 levels are sufficient to affect monocytes. Employing full IL-4 receptor alpha knockout mice (IL-4R alpha(-/-)) and mice with a myeloid-specific deletion of IL-4R alpha (IL-4R alpha(f/f) LysM(cre)), we show that IL-4 acts as a homeostatic factor regulating circulating monocyte numbers. In the absence of IL-4R alpha, murine monocytes in blood were reduced by 50% without altering monocytopoiesis in the bone marrow. This reduction was accompanied by a decrease in monocyte-derived inflammatory cytokines in the plasma. RNA sequencing analysis and immunohistochemical staining of splenic monocytes revealed changes in mRNA and protein levels of anti-apoptotic factors including BIRC6 in IL-4R alpha(-/-) knockout animals. Furthermore, assessment of monocyte lifespan in vivo measuring BrdU(+) cells revealed that the lifespan of circulating monocytes was reduced by 55% in IL-4R alpha(-/-) mice, whereas subcutaneously applied IL-4 prolonged it by 75%. Treatment of human monocytes with IL-4 reduced the amount of dying monocytes in vitro. Furthermore, IL-4 stimulation reduced the phosphorylation of proteins involved in the apoptosis pathway, including the phosphorylation of the NF kappa Bp65 protein. In a cohort of human patients, serum IL-4 levels were significantly associated with monocyte counts. In a sterile peritonitis model, reduced monocyte counts resulted in an attenuated recruitment of monocytes upon inflammatory stimulation in IL-4R alpha(f/f) LysM(cre) mice without changes in overall migratory function. Thus, we identified a homeostatic role of IL-4R alpha in regulating the lifespan of monocytes in vivo.