EFFECTS OF COMBINED BACILLE CALMETTE-GUÉRIN AND DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE TREATMENT ON ESTABLISHED ASTHMA IN MICE
Both bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and dehydroepiandrosterone induce Th1 immune responses and suppress Th2 allergic reactions. To investigate whether a combined administration of BCG and dehydroepiandrosterone treat asthma more effectively, BALB/c mice (n = 8 per group) with established airway hyper...
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Published in | Experimental lung research Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 250 - 261 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
England
Informa UK Ltd
01.01.2009
Taylor & Francis |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Both bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) and dehydroepiandrosterone induce Th1 immune responses and suppress Th2 allergic reactions. To investigate whether a combined administration of BCG and dehydroepiandrosterone treat asthma more effectively, BALB/c mice (n = 8 per group) with established airway hyper-responsiveness were treated with BCG and/or dehydroepiandrosterone. Combined treatment with 2 × 105 colony-forming units (CFUs) of BCG and 0.01% dehydroepiandrosterone was the most effective one at suppressing eosinophilia in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids. In addition, this combination also was better at suppressing hypersensitivity as compared to BCG alone (13.7 ± 4.0- versus 3.6 ± 0.5-fold increase in the sensitivity index; P <. 05) in male mice. Similarly, the effect of the combined treatment was superior to that of individual treatments at decreasing the serum ovalbumin-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) level. However, the addition of 0.1% dehydroepiandrosterone to BCG significantly decreased the efficacy of BCG on hypersensitivity in female mice. In male mice, the suppressive effect of the treatments on hypersensitivity tended to be lower, and the baseline interferon-γ /interleukin-5 (IFN-γ /IL-5) ratio in the splenocyte supernatant was significantly higher as compared to female mice. In conclusion, treatment with an appropriate combination of BCG and dehydroepiandrosterone had additive therapeutic effects on mice with established asthma. Androgens in males and dehydroepiandrosterone overdose might reduce the efficacy of BCG. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-1 |
ISSN: | 0190-2148 1521-0499 |
DOI: | 10.1080/01902140802626656 |