Preliminary results in a murine model of hypersensitivty to peanut

ICELY PA1, GIOINO ME1, KAHN A2, RIVERO VE1

CORDOBA.ARGENTINA

Congreso; 3. VII Latin Congress of Immunology. Córdoba, Argentina; 2005

SOCIEDAD ARGENTINA INMUNOLOGIA

Although food allergy is a serious health problem worldwide, factors influencing its development are largely unknown. Murine models of IgE mediated food allergy have been developed using the C3H/HeJ mice, which has a point mutation in the intracellular domain of TLR4. While C3H/HeJ mice sensitized intragrastic with allergen plus mucosal adjuvant provoked anaphylactic symptoms, the wild type strain (C3H/HeN) showed lower susceptibility. In this study we evaluate the effect of antibiotics on the induction of allergy to peanut in C3H/HeN mice. Two groups of C3H/HeN mice were sensitized intragastric with 10 mg of cholera toxin beta subunit  (CTB) plus 10 mg of crude peanut extract (CPE) (Group I) or CTB alone (Group II). Both groups were treated with antibiotics while being sensitized. One week after the last sensitization the animals were challenged with high doses of CPE and the symptoms evaluated 30-40 minutes after challenge. Mice from Group I developed anaphylactic symptoms such as scratching and rubbing around the nose and head, puffiness around the eyes and mouth, pilar erecti and reduced activity (pgroups I-II <0.05). Spleen and lymph node cells culture in the presence of CPE or a purified peanut antigen (Ara h1), showed positive proliferation rates in animals from Group I. IgE and IgG1 specific to CPE could also be detected in sera from animals from Group I. We conclude that following this schedule of sensitization, hypersensitivity to peanut could be developed in C3H/HeN mice.