Inhalation of stable-dust extract prevents allergen-induced airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness

Marcus Peters ^1*, Marion Kauth ¹, Jürgen Schwarze ², Cordula Körner-Rettberg ³, Josef Riedler ⁴, Dennis Nowak ⁵, Charlotte Braun-Fahrländer ⁶, Erika von Mutius ⁷, Albrecht Bufe ¹, Otto Holst ⁸ and ALEX Study Group ⁹

¹ Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany
² Imperial College London, United Kingdom
³ St. Josef-Hospital Bochum, Germany
⁴ Kinderspital Schwarzach, Austria
⁵ University of Munich, Germany
⁶ Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, Switzerland
⁷ Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital München, Germany
⁸ Forschungszentrum Borstel, Germany
⁹ -

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: marcus.peters{at}rub.de.

Accepted 10 October 2005

Abstract

Background: Recent epidemiological studies have shown that growing up on a traditional farm protects from the development of allergic disorders like hay fever and allergic asthma. Here, we present experimental evidence that substances protecting from development of allergic diseases can be extracted from dust collected in stables of animal farms.

Methods: Stable-dust was collected from 30 randomly selected farms all located in rural regions of the Alps (Austria, Germany and Switzerland). Dust was homogenized with glass beads and extracted with physiological sodium chloride solution. This extract was used to modulate immune response in a well established mouse model of allergic asthma.

Results: Inhalative treatment of mice with stable-dust extract during sensitization to ovalbumin inhibits the development of airway hyperresponsiveness and airway eosinophilia upon challenge, as well as the production of IL-5 by splenocytes and of antigen-specific IgG1 and IgE. In addition, dust extract also suppresses the generation of human dendritic cells in vitro. The biological activity of dust extract was not exclusively mediated by lipopolysaccharide.

Conclusions: Stable-dust from animal farms contains strong immune modulating substances. These substances can interfere with the development of both cellular and humoral immunity against allergens, thus suppressing allergen sensitization, airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness in a murine model of allergic asthma.

Keywords: allergic asthma, animal models, hygiene hypothesis

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