Immunotherapy of Chenopodium album induced asthma by intranasal administration of CpG oligodeoxynucleotides in BALB/c mice.

BACKGROUND There are many therapeutic methods for allergic conditions. CpG oligonucleotides play a critical role in immunity via the augmentation of Th1 and suppression of Th2 responses. OBJECTIVE In the present study we aimed to estimate the effectiveness of intranasal administration of CpG ODN plus Chenopodium album allergen in allergic asthma compared with the administration of allergen alone and to find out how CpG ODN therapy is useful in the treatment of allergen induced asthma. METHODS BALB/c Mice were intraperitoneally and intranasally sensitized with allergenic extract precipitated on aluminum hydroxide. Therapy with CpG/Ag was performed intranasally. After antigenic challenge, a number of Immunologic variables such as serum IgE and IgG, systemic and local IL-10 and IFN-gamma were studied in splenocytes, and lung tissue culture supernatants, respectively. RESULTS Our study indicated that intranasal administration of CpG/Ag had significant increases in both systemic and local levels of IL-10 and IFN-gamma (p <or= 0.001), but showed no significant effect on the levels of IgE, IgG2a, and IgG1 in serum (p=0.06). This study demonstrated that CpG ODN has therapeutic effects not only on splenocytes but also on nasal lymphocytes to produce IFN-gamma as a Th1 cytokine, and IL-10 as a regulatory cytokine. CONCLUSION According to these data from the mouse model, we conclude that intranasal administration of CpG motifs before allergen exposure may be useful for the control of allergic asthma. Therefore, further investigations on humans using CpG motifs are recommended in order to modulate the allergic effects of Chenopodium album as well as other regional allergens.