Allergic rhinitis (AR) affects the quality of life of 400 million patients worldwide, and while the pharmacological treatment options are extensive, more effective and safer treatments continue to be developed. The immunomodulator Transferon Oral® (TO) improves the clinical presentation of patients with AR; however, the immunological mechanisms by which it exerts its therapeutic effect are under investigation. This study aimed to develop an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced AR murine model. AR was established in female BALB/c mice (5-8 weeks old) by intraperitoneal inoculation of 200 μL of OVA (1 mg/mL)/Al(OH)3 (1.3%) on days 0, 1, 2, 7, 8, 14 and 21, and subsequently stimulated daily intranasally (RIN) with 20 μL of OVA (1 mg/mL) until day 42. The establishment of RA was evidenced by the increase in serum IgE against OVA by ELISA (OD > 0.5) and clinical signs. Subsequently, the effect of TO (0.75 μg) orally and dexamethasone (Dexa; 125 μg) intraperitoneally was evaluated in RA mice (n=6) for 21 days with daily RIN. TO significantly decreased specific IgE levels (p < 0.0001) at 7 and 14 days of treatment, while Dexa did so until day 14 (p < 0.0001) compared to the RA control group. Additionally, an analysis showed that TO reduced basal lamina thickness and decreased eosinophil and mast cell infiltration in NALT compared with RA controls. This work demonstrates that TO modulates the core RA molecule, IgE, and cell migration in NALT, and is the first step toward understanding its mechanism of action in this disease.
Keywords: Dialyzable leukocyte extract; Oral transferon; Immunomodulators; Allergic rhinitis; Oral peptides.
