title: Active colitis exacerbates immune response to internalized food antigens in mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies have indicated that colitis increases intestinal permeability to food antigens. This condition also generates an immunoreactive milieu in the gut, which may exacerbate or counteract allergy reactions. This, along with the fact that both colitis and allergy are being codiagnosed more frequently, means the scientific interest on the immune relation between these pathologies is increasing. We evaluated the immune response to an internalized food antigen that was initiated during a concomitant active intestinal inflammatory response.
  
  
  METHODS
  An ovalbumin (OVA)-induced immune response was analyzed in healthy mice and in mice suffering from colitis induced by the administration of dinitrofluorobenzene/dinitrosulfonic acid (DNFB/DNS) at the moment of OVA challenge. The OVA-induced clinical score and allergy response both in plasma and in splenocyte cultures from these animals were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although no differences were observed in the allergy clinical score, the concomitant active colitis led to an increase in the immune response to OVA antigen, as shown by increased spleen size and OVA-induced splenocyte proliferation, exacerbated expression of total and OVA-specific IgG1 levels, increased colonic IL-4 expression and OVA-induced IL-4 and IL-5 cytokine expression in spleen cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that animals with active colitis undergo an exacerbated immune response to an internalized antigen. This finding could be relevant for the allergy management of patients presenting simultaneously with chronic colitis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Center for Biomedical Research, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cueto-Sola
authors.forename: Elvira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bailon
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Utrilla
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Ruiz
authors.forename: Natividad
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Garrido-Mesa
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zarzuelo
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xaus
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gálvez
authors.forename: Mònica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Comalada
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D003092:Colitis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000276:immunology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D016207:Cytokines; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D010047:Ovalbumin