Study on the identification of industrial respiratory allergens using the analysis of immunity in lung.

Research Project

Project/Area Number	08670398
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Section	一般
Research Field	Hygiene
Research Institution	Kagoshima University
Principal Investigator	AOYAMA Kohji Kagoshima University Faculty of Medicine, Assistant Professor, 医学部, 講師 (70117472)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	XU Baohui Kagoshima University Faculty of Medicine, Research Associate, 医学部, 助手 (00264408) MATSUSHITA Toshio Kagoshima University Faculty of Medicine, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (10022790)
Project Period (FY)	1996 – 1997
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 1997)
Budget Amount *help	¥2,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,300,000) Fiscal Year 1997: ¥900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000) Fiscal Year 1996: ¥1,400,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000)
Keywords	Respiratory sensitivity / Lung / Cytokine / RT-PCR / Mouse / 呼吸器感作能 / mRNA / 一酸化窒素合成酵素 / 職業性呼吸器感作物質 / TDI / ELISA
Research Abstract	In this study, we have examined whether the analysis of immune function in lung sensitized with occupational respiratory allergens could provide the proper evaluation for them. Firstly, mice were painted on the shaved back skin with toluene diisocyanate (TDI), known as a potent respiratory sensitivity. Two weeks after the last exposure, mice were challenged with intranasal inoculation of TDI.After 0,1,6 and 12 hours, the gene expression of cytokine was analyzed in the lung of mice using RT-PCR.It was observed that IL-2, IL-5 and IFN-gamma mRNAs were detected in non-sensitized and sensitized lung of mice, but IL-4 mRNA was detected only in sensitized and challenged lung of mice. These finding were also observed in mice sensitized and challenged with inhaled TDI.Moreover, we have examined whether the pattern of the gene expression of four cytokine mRNAs could distinguish respiratory allergens from contact allergens. Mice were painted with picryl chloride (PCI), known as a potent contact sensitivity. Two weeks after the last exposure, mice were challenged with intranasal inoculation of PCI.It was observed that the gene expression of IL-4 and IFN-gamma mRNAs were extremely weak in the lungs of mice sensitized with PCI compared with those of TDI 6 hours after challenging. Therefore, the analysis of cytokine profiles using RT-PCR was suggested to be available for the evaluation of sensitizers causing respiratory allergy.