Decrease in IL-4 Expression after Immunotherapy with Local House Dust Mite Allergen in Atopic Dermatitis in BALB/c Mice

The efficacy of immunotherapy in atopic dermatitis (AD) patients has been debated in years. Study of immu-notherapy in AD mouse model can help finding objective information in the mechanism of immunotherapy, especially interleukin (IL)-4 that widely known has important role in AD pathogenesis. Thirty-three male BALB/c mice aged 6-8 weeks were randomly assigned to 3 different groups: immunotherapy, AD model, and control group. The mice in immunotherapy and AD model group were sensitized with house dust mites (HDM) Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Der-p) allergen extract, patched for the first 7 days and nebulized continuously from day 1-93. Subcutaneous Der-p immunotherapy injection was given every 3 days in increasing doses. The skin samples were taken on day 93 and was assessed for IL-4 with immunohistochemistry method. The data were analyzed with comparative analysis. The mice in immunotherapy group had lower IL-4 expression compared to AD model group which received placebo injections, and slightly higher than the control group. The mean IL-4 expression comparison between groups of mice was not significant (p = 0.098). This study found a decrease of IL-4 after immunotherapy with local HDM allergen in AD BALB/c mice compared to placebo group.