Contract Research – Asthma Models
Ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma in mice is one of the most commonly used models of human asthma. Inflammation in the airways is dominated by eosinophils, similar to inflammation in most asthmatic patients.
Th2 type cells are believed to be critical in pathogenesis of OVA-induced asthma. In addition, B cells (antibodies) and other cells of the immune system, such as mast cells, play a critical role in disease pathogenesis.
OVA-induced asthma can be run in C57BL/6 or BALB/c mice or Brown Norway, Sprague Dawley or Wistar rats.
Hooke Laboratories offers two models of asthma:
Ovalbumin-Induced Asthma in BALB/c Mice
The advantage of this model is that, as do human asthma patients, BALB/c mice develop airway hyper-responsiveness in addition to airway inflammation.
On days 0 and 14 mice are immunized with OVA emulsified in alum. Then on days 28, 29 and 30, the mice are challenged by intranasal administration of OVA solution. This leads to airway inflammation, airway resistance, and hyper-responsiveness.
The number of inflammatory cells in bronchial alveolar lavage (BAL) indicates severity of inflammation. The number and percentage of eosinophils in BAL indicate Th2-type inflammation.
Drug treatment is normally initiated at the time of intranasal challenge. This treatment is considered therapeutic because at the time of challenge, both OVA-specific T cells and OVA-specific antibodies are present in mice.
This model is around 30 days long.
Ovalbumin-Induced Asthma in C56BL/6 Mice
C57BL/6 mice develop more prominent eosinophilia in the lungs compared to BALB/c mice, and after a chronic exposure to OVA, C57BL/6 mice develop more prominent airway remodeling, accompanied by collagen deposition. However, C57BL/6 mice are resistant to induction of airway hyper-responsiveness.
On days 0 and 14 mice are immunized with OVA emulsified in alum. Then, on days 28, 29 and 30, the mice are challenged by intranasal administration of OVA solution. This leads to airway inflammation.
The number of inflammatory cells in bronchial alveolar lavage (BAL) indicates severity of inflammation. The number and percentage of eosinophils in BAL are indicative of Th2-type inflammation.
Drug treatment is normally initiated at the time of intranasal challenge. This treatment is considered therapeutic because at the time of challenge, both OVA-specific T cells and OVA-specific antibodies are present in mice.
This model is around 30 days long.
_150px.jpg)