Gender differences in the allergic response of mice neonatally exposed to environmental tobacco smoke.

Brian W. P. Seymour,Laurel J. Gershwin,Janice L. Peake,Robert L. Coffman,Kathleen E. Friebertshauser,Kent E. Pinkerton

doi:10.1080/1044667021000003989

Abstract

Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) has been shown to increase allergic sensitization and reactivity and there has been some suggestion that the influence of ETS on the allergic response is dissimilar in males and females. It is to be determined whether gender differences exist in the IgE response to ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization following ETS exposure from the neonatal period through adulthood. To address this thesis, we examined gender differences in OVA sensitization of BALB/c mice housed from birth through adulthood under smoking and nonsmoking conditions. At 6 weeks of age (day 0) all mice were injected i.p. with OVA in aluminum hydroxide adjuvant followed by three 20 min exposures to 1% aerosolized OVA between day 14 and 80. There were significantly (p<0.05) more total and OVA specific IgE and IgG1 in the serum of females compared to males. Moreover, these sex responses, along with eosinophilia, were further enhanced in mice exposed to ETS. There were also significantly more IgE positive cells in the lungs of female, but not male, mice exposed to ETS compared with ambient air (p<0.05). There was also an elevation of Th2 cytokines (IL4, IL5, IL10, and IL13) after re-stimulation of lung homogenates following ETS exposure. These data demonstrate that female animals are significantly more susceptible than males to the influence of ETS on the allergic response.

Highlights

Several reports have shown that gender differences exist in the severity of many diseases involving the immune system due to sex-linked genetic and hormonal factors (Cua et al, 1995; Beebe et al, 1997; Bebo et al, 1999; Ito et al, 2001)
IL-4 from cultured supernatant was detected by a bioassay using the IL4 dependent CT.4S cell line as described (Seymour et al, 1997)
This difference is based on Th2 cytokines and IgE and IgG1 responses to OVA sensitization

Summary

Introduction

Several reports have shown that gender differences exist in the severity of many diseases involving the immune system due to sex-linked genetic and hormonal factors (Cua et al, 1995; Beebe et al, 1997; Bebo et al, 1999; Ito et al, 2001). Some studies have shown that males are more likely to be allergic from exposure to ETS or mainstream smoke than females (Ronchetti et al, 1992; Omenaas et al, 1994; Jarvis et al, 1995), while others have reported no sex differences in the prevalence of allergy (Osaka et al, 1985) These studies, while intriguing, are controversial due to the multiple environmental factors that affect human beings, making it difficult to evaluate the true impact of ETS on the prevalence and severity of allergy

Methods

Results

Conclusion