Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
Am J Rhinol Allergy. 2023 Jul;37(4):410-418. doi: 10.1177/19458924231157619. Epub 2023 Feb 16.
BALB/c and C57BL/6 mouse strains are commonly used in allergy research. The current study investigated the immunological differences between these two mouse strains with a locally allergic rhinitis model.
Eighteen BALB/c and eighteen C57BL/6 mice received different doses of ovalbumin (OVA) intranasally for eight weeks (each mouse strain has three subgroups, 25 mg/mL group, 0.25 mg/mL group, and the PBS group). The allergic symptoms, OVA-specific serum antibody (IgE, IgG1, IgG2a), cytokines (IL-4, IFN-γ, IL-10) in the splenic culture supernatant, infiltrating eosinophils and goblet cells in local nasal mucosa were measured. RNA-seq technology was applied to detect differential gene expression in the local nasal mucosa.
With the same dose of OVA stimulation, the exacerbation of allergic symptoms was more pronounced in C57BL/6 than in BALB/c. BALB/c serum IgE, IgG1, and IgG2a gradually increased, and C57BL/6 produced fewer serum antibodies IgE and IgG1, while IgG2a never increased. BALB/c spleen cell culture supernatant IL-4 and IL-10 increased with increasing dose, and IFN-γ increased significantly in the intermediate dose group, while IL-4, IL-10, and IFN-γ did not increase in C57BL/6. The infiltration of eosinophils and goblet cells in both mice was proportional to the dose, while C57BL/6 was elevated more than BALB/c. RNA-seq suggested that the innate immune response, immune system process function, Jun kinase (JNK) pathway, and MAPKK pathway were upregulated in C57BL/6 compared to BALB/c. The core genes responsible for the differential immune response in both mice with allergic rhinitis were Kng2, Kng1, Gnb3, Lpar3, Lpar1, Pik3r1, Pf4, Apob, Rps9, and Fbxo2.
There are significant differences in the immunologic responses between BALB/c mice and C57BL/6 mice. BALB/c mice developed mild local allergic inflammatory reactions and strong systemic immune responses. In contrast, C57BL/6 mice had stronger local allergic inflammatory responses and relatively mild systemic immune responses. Different mice strains can be selected according to the research purpose.
BALB/c 和 C57BL/6 两种小鼠常用于过敏反应研究。本研究通过局部变应性鼻炎模型比较了这两种小鼠的免疫学差异。
18 只 BALB/c 和 18 只 C57BL/6 小鼠接受不同剂量的卵清蛋白（OVA）经鼻内给药 8 周（每组有 3 个亚组，25mg/ml 组、0.25mg/ml 组和 PBS 组）。检测过敏症状、OVA 特异性血清抗体（IgE、IgG1、IgG2a）、脾培养上清液中的细胞因子（IL-4、IFN-γ、IL-10）、局部鼻黏膜浸润的嗜酸性粒细胞和杯状细胞。采用 RNA-seq 技术检测局部鼻黏膜差异表达基因。
用相同剂量的 OVA 刺激，C57BL/6 小鼠的过敏症状比 BALB/c 更明显。BALB/c 血清 IgE、IgG1 和 IgG2a 逐渐增加，而 C57BL/6 产生的血清 IgE 和 IgG1 较少，而 IgG2a 从未增加。BALB/c 脾细胞培养上清液中 IL-4 和 IL-10 随剂量增加而增加，中剂量组 IFN-γ 明显增加，而 C57BL/6 中 IL-4、IL-10 和 IFN-γ 不增加。两种小鼠的嗜酸性粒细胞和杯状细胞浸润与剂量成正比，而 C57BL/6 比 BALB/c 升高更多。RNA-seq 提示 C57BL/6 中固有免疫反应、免疫系统过程功能、Jun 激酶（JNK）途径和 MAPKK 途径上调。导致两种变应性鼻炎小鼠差异免疫反应的核心基因有 Kng2、Kng1、Gnb3、Lpar3、Lpar1、Pik3r1、Pf4、Apob、Rps9 和 Fbxo2。
BALB/c 小鼠和 C57BL/6 小鼠的免疫反应存在显著差异。BALB/c 小鼠发生轻度局部变应性炎症反应和强烈的全身免疫反应。相反，C57BL/6 小鼠发生更强的局部变应性炎症反应和相对较轻的全身免疫反应。可根据研究目的选择不同的小鼠品系。
