Airway responsiveness, lung cell infiltration and OVA-specific IgE serum levels.

<p>Mice (n = 8) were sensitized with OVA/Alum and received 3 OVA or PBS inhalation challenges. TLR-2 agonist (20 µg per mouse in PBS) or PBS was administered intranasally 1 hour before each challenge. Asthma manifestations were measured one day after the last challenge. A: Airway responsiveness to increasing doses of methacholine was measured by whole-body plethysmography and is expressed as enhanced pause (PenH) (gray symbols: PBS-challenged groups, white symbols: OVA-challenged groups, squares: Pam3Cys-treated groups, triangles: PBS-treated groups). B, C: total (B) and differential (C) cell counts in the BAL of OVA-challenged mice. D: OVA-specific IgE levels in the serum of OVA-challenged mice. (E) Lung tissue cytokines measured in lung homogenates of PBS or Pam3Cys (P3C) treated mice as indicated. All values are displayed as average ± SEM (panels A–D) or individual values (dots)+mean (bar) (panel E). Significance is indicated (*) when p<0.05.</p

Time schedule of the experimental procedures.

<p>Days of sensitization, OVA/PBS challenges, Pam3Cys/PBS treatments and lung function measurements/section are indicated for both the short protocol (A) and the long-term protocol (B).</p

Airway responsiveness, lung cells infiltration and OVA-specific IgE serum levels.

<p>Mice (n = 8) were sensitized with OVA/Alum and received a first series of 3 OVA inhalation challenges, during which TLR-2 agonist (20 µg per mouse in PBS) or PBS was administered intranasally 1 hour before challenge. After 3 weeks, mice received a second series of 3 inhalation challenges (OVA or PBS). Asthma manifestations were measured one day after the last challenge. A: Airway responsiveness to increasing doses of methacholine was measured by whole-body plethysmography and is expressed as enhanced pause (PenH) (gray symbols: PBS-challenged groups, white symbols: OVA-challenged groups, squares: Pam3Cys-treated groups, triangles: PBS-treated groups). B: total cell counts in the BAL of PBS and OVA-challenged mice as indicated. C: differential cell counts in the BAL of OVA-challenged mice only. D: OVA-specific IgE levels in pre-challenge and post-challenge sera of OVA-challenged mice. (E) Lung tissue cytokines measured in lung homogenates of PBS or Pam3Cys (P3C) treated mice after OVA challenge at timepoint 1 (left-hand panel) or at timepoint 2 (right-hand panel) as indicated. All values in panels A–D are displayed as average ± SEM, panel E displays individual values (dots)+mean (bar). Significance is indicated (*) when p<0.05.</p

Airway responsiveness, BAL cell counts and composition, and OVA-specific IgE serum levels.

<p>Mice (n = 8) were sensitized with OVA/Alum and received 4 OVA or PBS inhalation challenges. TLR-2 agonist (20 µg per mouse in PBS) or PBS was administered intranasally 1 hour before the 2 first challenges. Asthma manifestations were measured one day after the last challenge. A: Airway responsiveness to increasing doses of methacholine was measured by whole-body plethysmography and is expressed as enhanced pause (PenH) (gray symbols: PBS-challenged groups, white symbols: OVA-challenged groups, squares: Pam3Cys-treated groups, triangles: PBS-treated groups). B, C: total (B) and differential (C) cell counts in the BAL of PBS and OVA-challenged mice as indicated. D: OVA-specific IgE levels in the serum of PBS and OVA-challenged mice as indicated. All values are displayed as average ± SEM.</p