Reduction of allergic airway responses in P-selectin-deficient mice

Abstract

De Sanctis, George T., Walter W. Wolyniec, Francis H. Y. Green, Shixin Qin, Aiping Jiao, Patricia W. Finn, Thomas Noonan, Anthony A. Joetham, Erwin Gelfand, Claire M. Doerschuk, and Jeffrey M. Drazen. Reduction of allergic airway responses in P-selectin-deficient mice. J. Appl. Physiol. 83(3): 681–687, 1997.—P-selectin is an adhesion receptor that has been shown to be important in the recruitment of eosinophils and lymphocytes in a variety of inflammatory conditions. Because cellular recruitment is thought to be a critical event in allergen-induced changes in airway responsiveness, we reasoned that P-selectin-deficient mice would exhibit reduced airway responsiveness and cellular trafficking noted in wild-type (+/+) mice. Both (+/+) and P-selectin-deficient (−/−) mice sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA/OVA) exhibited the same capacity to produce increased titers of total and OVA-specific immunoglobulin E. Airway responsiveness to methacholine was significantly greater in the (+/+) (OVA/OVA) animals than it was in the respective (−/−) (OVA/OVA) group or control groups ( P = 0.0016). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from (−/−) (OVA/OVA) mice contained significantly fewer eosinophils and lymphocytes compared with the (+/+) (OVA/OVA) mice ( P < 0.05). These results suggest that the predominant role of P-selectin in OVA-induced airway hyperresponsiveness is to promote the airway inflammatory response to allergen inhalation.