Interleukin (IL)-12 is a monocyte- and macrophage-derived cytokine that plays a crucial role in both the innate and the acquired immune response. In this study, we examined the effects that ligating specific macrophage receptors had on the induction of IL-12 by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We report that ligation of the macrophage Fcγ, complement, or scavenger receptors inhibited the induction of IL-12 by LPS. Both mRNA synthesis and protein secretion were diminished to near-undetectable levels following receptor ligation. Suppression was specific to IL-12 since IL-10 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) production were not inhibited by ligating macrophage receptors. The results of several different experimental approaches suggest that IL-12 downregulation was due to extracellular calcium influxes that resulted from receptor ligation. First, preventing extracellular calcium influxes, by performing the assays in EGTA, abrogated FcγR-mediated IL-12(p40) mRNA suppression. Second, exposure of macrophages to the calcium ionophores, ionomycin or A23187, mimicked receptor ligation and inhibited IL-12(p40) mRNA induction by LPS. Finally, bone marrow–derived macrophages from FcR γ chain–deficient mice, which fail to flux calcium after receptor ligation, failed to inhibit IL-12(p40) mRNA induction. These results indicate that the calcium influxes that occur as a result of receptor ligation are responsible for inhibiting the induction of IL-12 by LPS. Hence, the ligation of phagocytic receptors on macrophages can lead to a dramatic decrease in IL-12 induction. This downregulation may be a way of limiting proinflammatory responses of macrophages to extracellular pathogens, or suppressing the development of cell-mediated immunity to intracellular pathogens.

Macrophages can respond to a variety of infectious and/or inflammatory stimuli by secreting an array of proinflammatory cytokines, the overproduction of which can result in shock or even death. In this report, we demonstrate that ligation of macrophage Fcγ receptors (FcγR) can lead to a reversal of macrophage proinflammatory responses by inducing an upregulation of interleukin (IL)-10, with a reciprocal inhibition of IL-12 production. IL-10 upregulation was specific to FcγR ligation, since the ligation of the Mac-1 receptor did not alter IL-10 production. The identification of the specific FcγR subtype responsible for IL-10 upregulation was determined in gene knockout mice. Macrophages from mice lacking the FcR γ chain, which is required for assembly and signaling by FcγRI and FcγRIII, failed to upregulate IL-10 in response to immune complexes. However, mice lacking either the FcγRII or the FcγRIII were fully capable of upregulating IL-10 production, implicating FcγRI in this process. The biological consequences of FcγRI ligation were determined in both in vitro and in vivo models of inflammation and sepsis. In all of the models tested, the ligation of FcγR promoted the production of IL-10 and inhibited the secretion of IL-12. This reciprocal alteration in the pattern of macrophage cytokine production illustrates a potentially important role for FcγR-mediated clearance in suppressing macrophage proinflammatory responses.