Preclinical skin sensitization testing of antihistamines: guinea pig and local lymph node assay responses

Preclinical test methods for allergic contact sensitivity have been widely used for sensitization hazard identification and, with consideration of human exposure conditions, have also been valuable tools for sensitization risk assessment. For many years, the guinea pig has been the test species of choice with a variety of test methods developed to assess the sensitization response. More recently the local lymph node assay (LLNA) in mice has been developed to provide a more objective index of sensitization potential. The standardized methods have proven to be very well suited to most situations in which potential skin sensitization of a chemical needs to be assessed before human exposure. A potential difficulty with all these relatively limited exposure preclinical test methods, however, is in the ability to detect weak contact allergens that prove to be significant clinical allergens due to chronic topical exposure, exposure to compromised skin, and/or highly exaggerated exposure through transdermal delivery. This has been shown with the transdermal drug clonidine and might also be the case for topical antihistamines. The latter are considered significant clinical contact allergens, although predictive preclinical test data are minimal or lacking. A series of guinea pig (modified Buehler) tests with two common antihistamine compounds (triprolidine and diphenhydramine) and LLNA on these and two other compounds (chlorpheniramine and promethazine) was conducted. Positive Buehler test results required use of penetrating vehicle systems and a modified nine-induction patch regimen. Positive LLNA responses were obtained with all four materials (to varying degrees) only if the application site was pre-abraded or a penetrating vehicle (dimethylformamide) was used. These data support the notion that preclinical sensitization test methods can be modified to increase sensitivity. This may be critical for preclinical assessment of topical/transdermal drugs or other materials with chronic or high-concentration exposures in man.