Abstract
BackgroundAllergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) has the potential to modify allergic diseases, and it is also considered a potential therapy for allergic asthma. House dust mite (HDM) allergens, a common source of airborne allergen in human diseases, have been developed as an immunotherapy for patients with allergic asthma via the subcutaneous and sublingual routes. Oral immunotherapy with repeated allergen ingestion is emerging as another potential modality of ASIT. The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the oral ingestion of HDM extracts in a murine model of allergic asthma.MethodsBABL/c mice were sensitized twice by intraperitoneal injection of HDM extracts and Al(OH)3 on day 1 and day 8. Then, the mice received challenge to induce airway inflammation by intratracheal instillation of HDM extracts on days 29–31. The treatment group received immunotherapy with oral HDM extracts ingestion before the challenge. All the mice were sacrificed on day 32 for bronchoalveolar inflammatory cytokines, mediastinal lymph node T cells, lung histology, and serum HDM-specific immunoglobulins analyses.ResultsUpon HDM sensitization and following challenge, a robust Th2 cell response and eosinophilic airway inflammation were observed in mice of the positive control group. The mice treated with HDM extracts ingestion had decreased eosinophilic airway inflammation, suppressed HDM-specific Th2 cell responses in the mediastinal lymph nodes, and attenuated serum HDM-specific IgE levels.ConclusionsOral immunotherapy with HDM extracts ingestion was demonstrated to have a partial therapeutic effect in the murine model of allergic asthma. This study may serve as the basis for the further development of oral immunotherapy with HDM extracts in allergic asthma.
Highlights
Allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) has the potential to modify allergic diseases, and it is considered a potential therapy for allergic asthma
This study may serve as the basis for the further development of oral immunotherapy with house dust mites (HDMs) extracts in allergic asthma
Mice were divided into three experimental groups: (A) the normal control (NC) group, composed of unsensitized mice fed formula who did not receive intraperitoneal injections of the HDM extracts; (B) the positive control (PC) group, composed of HDM-sensitized mice that received sensitization and following challenge with HDM extracts to induce allergic airway inflammation and that served as the inflammation control; and (C) the treatment (HDM) group, composed of HDM-treated mice that received HDM extracts orally daily from day 15 to day 31 and that served as the intervention group
Summary
Allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) has the potential to modify allergic diseases, and it is considered a potential therapy for allergic asthma. House dust mite (HDM) allergens, a common source of airborne allergen in human diseases, have been developed as an immunotherapy for patients with allergic asthma via the subcutaneous and sublingual routes. Oral immunotherapy with repeated allergen ingestion is emerging as another potential modality of ASIT. Allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) is the repeated administration of specific, relevant allergens to treat IgE-mediated allergic disease. It is predicted that ASIT has the potential to modify the disease course of allergic asthma [1]. In the past 100 years, many studies regarding ASIT have promoted the development of many modalities of immunotherapy in allergic diseases [2]. Because the house dust mite (HDM) is an important airborne allergen source associated with asthma attacks in the domestic environment, many ASIT studies have been conducted using HDM extracts to treat asthma. There are two major immunotherapy modalities for the clinical application of allergic asthma, subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) [3] and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) [4]
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