Topical levamisole hydrochloride therapy attenuates experimental murine allergic rhinitis

• Published in: European journal of pharmacology Vol. 577; no. 1; pp. 162 - 169
• Main Authors: Wang, Heyao, Zhang, Jiali, Gao, Chunsheng, Zhu, Ying, Wang, Chen, Zheng, Wenjie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 22.12.2007; Elsevier
• Subjects: Administration, Intranasal; Allergic rhinitis; Aluminum Hydroxide - pharmacology; Animals; Anti-Allergic Agents - administration & dosage; Anti-Allergic Agents - therapeutic use; Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Antiparasitic agents; Biological and medical sciences; Bordetella pertussis - immunology; Coloring Agents; Cytokines - metabolism; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Eosinophil; Eosinophils - pathology; Histamine - analysis; Histamine Release - drug effects; Immunoglobulin E - analysis; Immunohistochemistry; Indicators and Reagents; Interleukin-12 - biosynthesis; Levamisole - administration & dosage; Levamisole - therapeutic use; Levamisole hydrochloride; Male; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mouse; Naphthalenesulfonates; Nasal Mucosa - pathology; Non tumoral diseases; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Ovalbumin - immunology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial - drug therapy; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial - pathology; Upper respiratory tract, upper alimentary tract, paranasal sinuses, salivary glands: diseases, semeiology; Mouse; Levamisole hydrochloride; Allergic rhinitis; Eosinophil; Immunopathology; Allergy; Nose disease; Anthelmintic; Rhinitis; Toxicity; Rodentia; Levamisole; Local administration; Vertebrata; Immunostimulant agent; Mammalia; Treatment; Animal; ENT disease; Parasiticide; Topical administration
• ISSN: 0014-2999; 1879-0712
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2007.08.023

Allergic rhinitis is one of the most common chronic diseases. There are a number of effective therapeutic options for allergic rhinitis patients, such as intranasal corticosteroids. How to avoid the adverse effects of these traditional medicines has come to public attention and started the search for effective and safe medicine. We used BALB/c mice with experimental allergic rhinitis, and determined that levamisole delivered locally (intranasal, i.n.) could attenuate early-phase inflammatory response, decrease histamine, suppress edema and eosinophil infiltration, and diminish the ovalbumin-specific serum IgE level. Detailed analysis of cytokine gene expression showed that levamisole can decrease IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 mRNA and increase IL-12, IL-18 and IFN-γ mRNA. Levamisole showed analogous effects of down-regulating Th2 cytokines with budesonide and distinct up-regulating effects on Th1 cytokines gene expression. Our findings offer potential options for allergic rhinitis therapy.