Abstract:

Li Runxiang*, Feng Cheng′en, Liang Bihua, Tian Xin, Zhu Huilan. *Guangzhou Institute of Dermatology, Guangzhou 510095, China Corresponding author: Zhu Huilan, Email: zhlhuilan@hotmail.com 【Abstract】 Objective To establish an animal model for immunological contact urticaria in mice. Methods A total of 60 BALB/c mice were randomly and equally divided into 5 groups: anti-dinitrophenol IgE monoclonal antibody （anti-DNP IgE） + 2, 4-dinitrofluorobenzene （DNFB） group and anti-DNP IgE + trimellitic anhydride （TMA） group both injected with anti-DNP IgE via tail veins firstly, followed by topical treatment with DNFB and TMA respectively on the ears at 24 hours after the injection, DNFB group, TMA group and normal saline （NS） group all injected with NS via the tail vein firstly, followed by topical treatment with DNFB, TMA and NS on the ears 24 hours after the injection. In the following 14 days, mice were observed daily for the appearance of wheals and for scratching behavior. All the mice were sacrificed at the end of the study followed by determination of the percentage of degranulated mast cells and spleen index as well as observation of pathological changes. Results Wheals were observed in all the mice （12/12） in the anti-DNP IgE + DNFB group, some mice （8/12） in the anti-DNP IgE + TMA group, but not observed in any mice in the other 3 groups. Compared with the NS group, both the anti-DNP IgE + DNFB group and anti-DNP IgE + TMA group showed a significant increase in the percentage of degranulated mast cells （70.21% ± 26.01% and 54.25% ± 39.57% vs. 14.45% ± 6.79%, F = 14.41, P = 0.000）, spleen index （7.54 ± 1.56 and 7.87 ± 1.18 vs. 5.37 ± 1.16, F = 4.29, P = 0.004） and scratching frequency （（31.58 ± 3.58）/h and （22.17 ± 3.81）/h vs. （2.00 ± 0.85）/h at 30 minutes，F = 437.86, P < 0.01）. Conclusion A stable mouse model for immunological contact urticaria can be established quickly by sensitization with anti-DNP IgE and challenge with DNFB.