Ovalbumin induced allergic rhinitis in BALBc mice

Species

Mouse

Fields of application

Allergic rhinitis in BALB/c mice is induced by repeated systemic injection of ovalbumin together with an adjuvant followed by daily challenge of the upper airways with the allergen. After 10 days of challenge mice develop clinical symptoms of an allergy.

Allergic rhinitis can be induced in transgenic mice with BALB/c background who allow non-invasive bioluminescence imaging (BLI) to monitor inflammatory processes throughout the study. The model can be used for the following fields of application:

• Pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics
• (Patho)physiological processes
• Therapeutic efficacy
• Proof of concept

Endpoints / outcome parameter

• Assessment of clinical allergic symptoms after challenge with allergen (in vivo)
• Immune cells in full blood (in vivo)
• IgE titre and cytokine levels in blood plasma (in vivo)
• Airway remodelling (upper airways and lung, including goblet cell hyperplasia, infiltration of eosinophils, fibrosis, airway narrowing; ex vivo)
• BALF (bronchoalveolar lavage fluid) immune cell composition, cytokine levels, IgE titre (ex vivo)
• General inflammatory processes (BLI; in vivo)

Readout parameter

• Counting of sneezes and scratches
• Flow cytometry
• ELISA / CBA (cytometric bead array)
• RT-PCR
• Western Blot
• Histology / Cytology (various classical histological stains)
• Immunohistochemistry
• Imaging: BLI, CT, MRT

Quality management and validation

• Controls
• Blinded induction
• Blinded data collection and analysis
• Randomisation
• Allocation concealment
• Biometric Expertise
• Internal quality management

References

Cooperation project with Nuvo Research GmbH (Leipzig): "Die pharmakologische präklinische Entwicklung des Wirkstoffes WF10 im Indikationsgebiet Allergische Rhinitis"