Oral administration of royal jelly inhibits the development of atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice

• Published in: International immunopharmacology Vol. 3; no. 9; pp. 1313 - 1324
• Main Authors: Taniguchi, Yoshifumi, Kohno, Keizo, Inoue, Shin-ichiro, Koya-Miyata, Satomi, Okamoto, Iwao, Arai, Norie, Iwaki, Kanso, Ikeda, Masao, Kurimoto, Masashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.09.2003; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adjuvants, Immunologic - administration & dosage; Adjuvants, Immunologic - therapeutic use; Administration, Oral; Analysis; Animals; Atopic dermatitis; Biological and medical sciences; Dermatitis, Atopic - chemically induced; Dermatitis, Atopic - genetics; Dermatitis, Atopic - pathology; Dermatitis, Atopic - prevention & control; Dermatitis, Contact - etiology; Dermatitis, Contact - genetics; Dermatitis, Contact - pathology; Dermatitis, Contact - prevention & control; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Eruptions - etiology; Drug Eruptions - genetics; Drug Eruptions - pathology; Drug Eruptions - prevention & control; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Fatty Acids - administration & dosage; Fatty Acids - therapeutic use; Female; General pharmacology; Haptens - toxicity; Hypertrophy; Immunoglobulin E - blood; Immunoglobulin E - immunology; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Immunoglobulin G - immunology; Inducible nitric oxide synthase; Interferon-γ; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Mutant Strains; NC/Nga mouse; Nitric Oxide Synthase - biosynthesis; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Picryl chloride; Picryl Chloride - toxicity; Royal jelly; Skin - drug effects; Skin - immunology; Skin - pathology; Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - drug effects; T-Lymphocyte Subsets - immunology; Royal jelly; Atopic dermatitis; Interferon-γ; NC/Nga mouse; Inducible nitric oxide synthase; Picryl chloride; Atopic dematitis; Allergy; Immunopathology; Skin disease; Cytokine; Rodentia; Oral administration; Transgenic animal; Atopy; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Mouse; Animal; Skin; Gamma interferon
• ISSN: 1567-5769; 1878-1705
• DOI: 10.1016/S1567-5769(03)00132-2

We have shown previously that in addition to IL-4, IL-5 and IL-10, antigen-specific interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production by spleen cells from ovalbumin (OVA)/Alum-immunized mice is inhibited by the administration of royal jelly (RJ). Since it has been shown that both Th1 and Th2 cytokines play pathogenic roles in the generation of atopic dermatitis (AD), we have examined whether RJ suppresses the development of AD-like skin lesions in NC/Nga mice induced by repeated application of picryl chloride (PiCl) under specific pathogen-free (SPF) conditions. Oral administration of RJ to the PiCl-treated NC/Nga mice inhibited the development of AD-like skin lesions in these mice as exemplified by the significant decrease in the total skin severity scores and the decrease in hypertrophy, hyperkeratosis, and infiltration of the epidermis and corium by inflammatory cells. IFN-γ production by spleen cells from PiCl-treated NC/Nga mice in response to TNP–KLH was partially but significantly inhibited by the oral administration of RJ, while IFN-γ production by Con A-stimulated spleen cells was not affected. Since inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS)-derived NO has been suggested as an important immunoregulatory mediator in inflammatory autoimmune diseases, we have also examined the expression of iNOS in the dorsal skin lesions of PiCl-treated NC/Nga mice. Interestingly, the expression of iNOS was significantly increased in the skin lesions of RJ-administered mice compared with those of control PBS-administered mice. Thus, our results suggest that RJ suppresses the development of AD-like skin lesions in PiCl-treated NC/Nga mice, possibly by a combination of down-regulating TNP-specific IFN-γ production and up-regulating iNOS expression.