%0 Journal Article
%T Effects of Corni fructus on ovalbumin-induced airway inflammation and airway hyper-responsiveness in a mouse model of allergic asthma
%A Seung-Hyung Kim
%A Bok-Kyu Kim
%A Young-Cheol Lee
%J Journal of Inflammation
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1476-9255-9-9
%X In this study, BALB/c mice were systemically sensitized to ovalbumin (OVA) by intraperitoneal (i.p.), intratracheal (i.t.) injections and intranasal (i.n.) inhalation of OVA. We investigated the effect of CF on airway hyperresponsiveness, pulmonary eosinophilic infiltration, various immune cell phenotypes, Th2 cytokine production, and OVA-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) production.The CF-treated groups showed suppressed eosinophil infiltration, allergic airway inflammation, and AHR via reduced production of interleuin (IL) -5, IL-13, and OVA-specific IgE.Our data suggest that the therapeutic effects of CF in asthma are mediated by reduced production of Th2 cytokines (IL-5), eotaxin, and OVA-specific IgE and reduced eosinophil infiltration.Allergic asthma generally presents with symptoms of wheezing, coughing, breathlessness, and airway inflammation. It is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, characterized by airway eosinophilia and goblet cell hyperplasia with mucus hypersecretion to inhaled allergens and nonspecific stimuli [1,2]. In particular, eosinophilic inflammation is considered the hallmark of airway inflammation in asthma [3]. The inflammatory process in allergic asthma is dominated by Th2 cells that produce IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 [4], which activate eosinophils and induce the production of IgE by B cells [5,6].CF is a Korean traditional medicinal herb with tonic, analgesic, and diuretic activity and has been commonly used to facilitate liver and kidney function, reduce urination, and decrease perspiration. We previously reported that CF has anti-allergic activity in mouse splenic B cells and IC-2 mast cells [7]. Sung et al. [8] reported that aqueous extracts of CF have anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities in murine RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Moreover, Du et al. [9] reported that the polysaccharides in crude and processed CF enhance nonspecific immunity, specific humoral immunity, and specific cellular immunity in immunosuppressed mice, and
%K Corni fructus
%K Asthma
%K Eosinophil
%K IL-5
%K CCR3
%U http://www.journal-inflammation.com/content/9/1/9