Fur mites induce dermatitis associated with IgE hyperproduction in an inbred strain of mice, NC/Kuj
An inbred strain of mice, NC, has been introduced as an animal model for atopic dermatitis because the mice develop dermatitis associated with severe scratch preceded by elevated serum IgE level when kept in conventional conditions. Although hypersensitivity to some environmental factors is suggeste...
Saved in:
Published in | Journal of dermatological science Vol. 19; no. 1; pp. 37 - 43 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Netherlands
Elsevier Ireland Ltd
1999
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | An inbred strain of mice, NC, has been introduced as an animal model for atopic dermatitis because the mice develop dermatitis associated with severe scratch preceded by elevated serum IgE level when kept in conventional conditions. Although hypersensitivity to some environmental factors is suggested to cause dermatitis, the precise factor remains unclear. As the mice maintained under conventional conditions were often infected with fur mites, we investigated whether an infection of fur mites induces skin lesions in NC. Infection with the fur mites induced NC to develop skin lesions associated with highly elevated serum IgE, whereas no obvious skin lesions were observed in BALB/c and C57BL/6, and the elevation of serum IgE level was minimal in these two strains of mice. The role of the fur mites in the manifestation of skin lesions and IgE hyperproduction was confirmed by eliminating the fur mites by treatment with ivermectin. In addition, the existence of specific IgE antibody to
Myocoptes musculinus antigen in the sera of mite-infested NC was detected by the antigen-induced histamine release from bone marrow-derived cultured mast cells after sensitization with the serum. These results suggest that continuous exposure to fur mite antigen is a potential factor in the development of dermatitis in NC. We provide a new model system of antigen-induced dermatitis for investigating the role of IgE in eliciting dermatitis. |
---|---|
ISSN: | 0923-1811 1873-569X |
DOI: | 10.1016/S0923-1811(98)00047-4 |