The effects of allergen and bronchoconstrictor exposure on mucus build-up in the lungs of mice.
Open Access
- Author:
- Mercier, Elise Lorraine
- Area of Honors:
- Biobehavioral Health
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Sonia Angele Cavigelli, Thesis Supervisor
David John Vandenbergh, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- methacholine
house dust mite
airway inflammation
bronchoconstriction
mucus
goblet cells
asthma
balb/c mice - Abstract:
- Background: The goal of this study is to examine the effects of a common allergen and a bronchoconstrictor drug on mucus build-up within the lungs of BALB/c mice. The allergen house dust mite (HDM) and the drug methacholine are both commonly used to model certain components of asthma in mice. HDM is commonly used to induce chronic airway inflammation. Methacholine is used to induce bronchoconstriction. Traditionally, airway inflammation has been proposed as the cause of a set of structural changes, termed airway remodeling, that often persist in the lungs of asthmatics. However, a study by Grainge et al. (2011) demonstrated that methacholine caused airway remodeling without inflammation in a group of asthmatic humans. Thus, this study assessed mucus build-up as a measure of chronic inflammation in the lungs of mice treated with methacholine. Methods: Periadolescent mice (n=21) were subjected to 1 of 4 conditions: 1) Exposure to HDM, 2) Exposure to methacholine, 3) Exposure to both HDM and methacholine, and 4) Procedural Control. Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining of the lungs was used to quantify mucus using an arbitrary scale termed mucus score. Results: Although the procedural control group and the methacholine group did not have mucus build-up, both of the groups exposed to HDM had significant mucus build-up. There was no significant difference in mucus scores between the HDM group and the HDM with methacholine group. However, females had higher mucus scores than males. Conclusion: Allergen (HDM) exposure causes mucus build-up in the lungs of BALB/c mice, but bronchoconstriction does not. Female mice appear to have greater sensitivity to the effects of allergen exposure, which leads to greater mucus build-up within the lungs.