Establishment of an asthma model by sensitization with mite antigen alone in C57BL/6J mice

Bronchial asthma is characterized by the bronchial hyperresponsiveness and airway obstruction related to airway smooth muscle contraction. Eosinophilic airway inflammation is involved in its pathogenesis. To reproduce the condition, various animal models have been prepared. However, there are many models that do not reflect the spontaneous history of bronchial asthma onset in humans due to the mouse strain, sensitizing antigen, or administration method. In this study, we prepared a mouse model of which the mechanism is similar to that of human bronchial asthma. Mite Extract-Dermatophagoides farinae (Derf) antigen was transnasally administered to wild-type C57BL/6J mice (WT) 13 times. Subsequently, an airway hypersensitivity test (Mch PC200), specific antigen exposure test (ΔSRaw), bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and blood collection were performed to examine the presence or absence of asthma acquisition and differences in the local pulmonary levels of cytokines/chemokines in comparison with the physiological saline-treated group. In the mite antigen-treated mice (WT/-Derf), bronchial hyperresponsiveness was enhanced, antigen-specific was increased airway resistance in comparison with physiological salinetreated mice (WT/-Saline). In addition, the number of eosinophils in BAL fluid (BALF) was greater. Furthermore, there was a correlation among leukotrienes, eotaxin, and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase 1 in BALF, suggesting that the mechanism concerning eosinophilic airway inflammation involving in human bronchial asthma was reproduced. In this study, we successfully established a mouse bronchial asthma model in which the pathogenesis resembles that in humans in comparison with conventional models, using Derf antigen alone and C57BL/6J mice. (Accepted on October 12, 2012)