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A Pilot Study To Establish an Ovalbumin-induced Atopic Dermatitis Minipig Model
Young Kyu Kim1, Ju Young Lee1, Jeong Ho Hwang1
1Animal Model Research Group, Korea Institute of Toxicology, 30 Baekhak1-gil, Jeongeup, Jellabuk-do, 56212, Republic of Korea.
Introduction:
Because minipig skin is similar to human skin in anatomy and physiology, establishing an atopic dermatitis (AD) minipig model seems meaningful.
Material And Methods:
We applied 1-fluoro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (DNFB) or ovalbumin onto the back skin of five Yucatan minipigs aged 8-10 months and 19 kg in median weight. Two minipigs with the same parameters served as controls.
Results:
Both DNFB and ovalbumin mediated epithelial hyperplasia, spongiosis, and immune cell infiltration in the dermis, which is a typical histopathological feature of AD. Moreover, AD upregulated the Th1- and Th2-related cytokine expressions in DNFB- or in ovalbumin-treated skin. Notably, AD-induced minipigs exhibited greater cytokine serum concentrations.
Conclusion:
Histopathological finding and cytokine analysis revealed that DNFB or ovalbumin mediates AD. However, ovalbumin-treated minipig is a more reliable and precise AD model owing to the DNFB-induced severe skin damage. In summary, ovalbumin-treated skin shows similar AD as human in histopathological and molecular analysis.
