Downregulation of Orai1 expression in the airway alleviates murine allergic rhinitis

Orai1 is the key subunit of the Ca(2+)-release-activated Ca(2+) channel. Our previous report has demonstrated that Orai1 expression in the airway was upregulated in the ovalbumin (OVA)-induced allergic rhinitis (AR) mouse models. To observe whether inhibition of Orai1 expression in the airway could suppress symptoms in a murine model of AR and to assess the impacts of this inhibition on the responses of local and systemic immunocytes, we administered recombinant lentivirus vectors that encoded shRNA against ORAI1 (lenti-ORAI1) into the nostrils of OVA-sensitized mice before the challenges, and analyzed its effect on allergic responses, as compared with the unsensitized mice and untreated AR mice. Administration of lenti-ORAI1 into the nasal cavity successfully infected cells in the epithelial layer of the nasal mucosa, and significantly decreased the frequencies of sneezing and nasal rubbing of the mice. Protein levels of leukotriene C4, OVA-specific IgE, and IL-4 in the nasal lavage fluid and serum and eosinophil cation protein in the serum were also significantly reduced by lenti-ORAI1, as were the mRNA levels of these factors in the nasal mucosa and spleen. These data suggested that administration of lenti-ORAI1 into the nasal cavity effectively decreased Orai1 expression in the nasal mucosa, alleviated AR symptoms, and partially inhibited the hyperresponsiveness of the local and systemic immune cells including T cells, B cells, mast cells and eosinophils that are involved in the pathogenesis of AR.