History of interleukin-4

The history of the discovery and the development of our knowledge of IL-4 exemplifies the path of progress in biomedical science. There are unanticipated twists and turns although progress is made, sometimes quickly, other times far too slowly. Illustrative is the extended time from the first report of IL-4 in 1982 to the establishment of the efficacy of blocking IL-4 and its congener IL-13 in the treatment of moderate to severe asthma and atopic dermatitis, a period of 31 years. The author was “present at the creation” and has been a participant or a witness to virtually all the major advances and recounts here his recollection of this history.