Effect of oral tolerance in a mouse model of allergic rhinitis

Objective: Induction of oral tolerance (OT) is known to prevent allergic inflammation in models of asthma. This study investigated the preventive effect of OT and airway remodeling in a mouse model of allergic rhinitis (AR).

Study design: An in vivo study using an animal model.

Setting: Catholic Research Institutes of Medical Science.

Methods: Forty six-week-old, female BALB/c mice were divided into four groups: control, AR, low-dose OT, and high-dose OT. To induce OT, mice were fed ovalbumin (OVA) before sensitization with OVA/aluminum hydroxide, 1 mg for six days in the low-dose OT group and a 25 mg single dose in the high-dose OT group. Mice in the AR group were fed phosphate-buffered saline. After sensitization followed by challenges with OVA during six weeks, nasal behaviors, interleukin (IL)-13 and interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) levels in nasal lavage (NAL) fluids, as well as OVA-specific IgE levels in serum, were measured. The degree of goblet cell hyperplasia and thickness of lamina propria were observed in nasal tissues by periodic acid-Schiff and Masson's trichrome stain. A P value < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant.

Results: Both OT groups showed a significant decrease in inflammatory cells, IL-13 and IFN-gamma in NAL fluids, as well as OVA-specific IgE levels in serum compared with the AR group. In addition, the degree of goblet cell hyperplasia and thickness of lamina propria were attenuated in both OT groups compared with the AR group. Further, these alterations did not differ significantly between the two OT groups.

Conclusion: These results suggest that OT may effectively reduce allergic inflammation as well as airway remodeling in a mouse model of AR.