Exposure to Mycotoxins Increases the Allergic Immune Response in a Murine Asthma Model

Abstract

Our results demonstrate that gliotoxin and patulin increase the allergic immune response in mice by modulating the Th1/Th2 balance via direct effects on IL-12 secretion in DCs and by inducing oxidative stress.

Critical role for syndecan-4 in dendritic cell migration during development of allergic airway inflammation

“…First, the role of SDC4 in allergic asthma was investigated by comparing SDC4 À / À versus wild-type (WT) mice in a murine asthma model [15][16][17] . Histological analysis of haematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained lung sections showed less inflammatory infiltrates in the airways of OVA-immunized SDC4 À / À mice compared with WT animals (Fig.…”

“…Left lung was fixed in 10% formalin and stained with H&E (MERCK, Darmstadt, Germany). For objective evaluation and quantification of the degree of pulmonary inflammation, lung sections were scanned with a digital camera (Visitron systems, USA, five shots per lung) and analysed with HistoClick-Software based on morphometric image analysis developed in our laboratory 15,16 . The degree of inflammation is expressed as the number of pixels that correlate to the stained cells of interest.…”

“…OVA-specific IgE and IgG 1 serum levels were measured by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay according to a standard protocol 15,16 . Briefly, 96-well microtiter plates (Nunc, Roskilde, Denmark) were coated overnight with 10 mg ml À 1 OVA diluted in bicarbonate buffer (pH 9.6).…”

“…Splenocytes or mediastinal lymph node cells (5 Â 10 6 cells per ml per well) were isolated and restimulated in vitro with 200 mg ml À 1 OVA in culture medium (RPMI medium supplemented with 10% FCS, 100 U ml À 1 penicilin and 100 mg ml À 1 streptomycin) 1 day after the airway function test. Cytokines were measured in supernatants from restimulated spleen or lymph node cells after 3 days using DuoSet ELISA kits (R&D Systems, Minneapolis, USA) according to the manufacturer's instructions 15,16 .…”

Update in Environmental and Occupational Medicine 2010

“…In 395 subjects with asthma, they found that high mold exposure significantly modified the relation between three SNPs in CHIT1 and severe exacerbations requiring emergency department visits. In a related article, Schü tze and colleagues sought to determine whether and how mycotoxins, secondary metabolites of mold, might exacerbate asthma (57). They found that the administration of mycotoxins to the lung or colon enhanced the severity of the asthma-like phenotype of mice after ovalbumin sensitization and challenge.…”