Fetal origin of allergic asthma: insights on mechanistic cues and therapeutic targets arising from a mouse model of prenatal stress challenge

Materials and methods BALB/c mice were exposed to sound stress during late gestation. Maternal serum and placentas were analyzed. Fetal development was scored. Allergic asthma was induced in the offspring by using an ovalbumin protocol. We analyzed immune cells in lungs, bronchioalveolar fluid (BAL) and lung-draining lymph nodes as well as cytokine concentrations in the BAL. Further, stress-challenged pregnant females were treated with a progesterone derivative, followed by fetal analyses and evaluation of the vulnerability towards asthma in the offspring.