Oberer und unterer Respirationstrakt (V 39–V 44)

Mast cell-derived tumour necrosis factor is essential for allergic airway disease

Mast cells are thought to contribute to allergic airway disease. However, the role of mast cell-produced mediators, such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF), for the development of allergic airway disease is unclear. In order to define the role of mast cells in acute allergic airway disease two strains of mast cell-deficient mice (Kit W/Wv and Kit W-sh/W-sh ) were studied. Compared with their wild-type littermates, Kit W/Wv and Kit W-sh/W-sh mice developed significantly lower airway responsiveness to methacholine and less airway inflammation and goblet cell metaplasia, following sensitisation in the absence of adjuvant and airway challenge. Transfer of bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs) fro…

Modulation of Contact Sensitivity Responses by Bacterial Superantigen

Superantigens are potent modulators of the immune system, especially T cells. Therefore, we determined the influence of superantigens on the T-cell-mediated immune response, contact sensitivity. We chose the combination of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) as superantigen and 2,4-dinitrofluorbenzene (DNFB) as the contact sensitizer, because in BALB/c mice SEB reacts almost exclusively with V beta 8+ T cells, and these cells are capable of transferring contact sensitivity to DNFB from sensitized donors to naive syngeneic recipients. Pretreatment with a single intradermal injection of 50 ng SEB 24 h before DNFB exposure at the same site on the lower abdomen enhanced the induction of contact …

Cutaneous Exposure to the Superantigen Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B Elicits a T-Cell-Dependent Inflammatory Response

We analyzed the impact of superantigens secreted by skin-colonizing Staphylococci on the skin and the associated lymphoid tissue following epicutaneous application and intracutaneous injection of small amounts of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB). A single intracutaneous injection of 50 ng of SEB elicited a strong inflammatory response in the skin of BALB/c mice. Three to 6 h later, we observed langerhans cell activation, mast cell degranulation, vasodilation, upregulation of ICAM-1, and induction of VCAM-1 on dermal blood vessels, with vascular adhesion of granulocytes. by 12 to 24 h, cell infiltration of the dermis increased, reaching the epidermis. Among the infiltrating leukocytes, a s…