title: Allergen-induced airway inflammation and bronchial responsiveness in wild-type and interleukin-4-deficient mice.
abstract: T helper 2 (Th2)-like cytokines are thought to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of airway inflammation in atopic asthma, leading to bronchial hyperresponsiveness. To investigate the role of the principal Th2 cytokine interleukin-4 (IL-4) in asthma, we examined the allergen-induced changes in airway morphology and bronchial responsiveness (BR) in an in vivo mouse model. C57BL/6 mice were actively sensitized to ovalbumin (OVA) and exposed daily to aerosolized OVA or saline (SAL) for 7 days. Twenty-four hours after the last allergen exposure, total and differential counts of bronchoalveolar lavage cells revealed a significant increase of eosinophils and lymphocytes in OVA-exposed immunized mice compared with SAL-exposed animals. In IL-4-deficient (IL-4-/-) mice, treated in the same way, there were substantially fewer eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage compared with wild-type mice. Allergen exposure of actively sensitized wild-type mice induced a significant increase of BR to carbachol and to serotonin compared with SAL-exposed mice. In contrast, OVA exposure of immunized IL-4-/- mice did not augment BR to serotonin compared with SAL-challenged IL-4-/- mice. In conclusion, these data indicate that repeated allergen exposure in sensitized mice induces airway inflammation and bronchial hyperresponsiveness, and that IL-4 plays a predominant role in the pathogenesis of both phenomena.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Diseases, University Hospital Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brusselle
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kips
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Joos
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bluethmann
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pauwels
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology; D001985:Bronchial Provocation Tests; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology*; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology; D007249:Inflammation; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000172:deficiency*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000276:immunology; D012701:Serotonin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D015847:Interleukin-4; D012701:Serotonin; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D002217:Carbachol; D010047:Ovalbumin