A pilot study to establish an ovalbumin-induced atopic dermatitis minipig model
Published Online: Aug 19, 2021
Page range: 307 - 313
Received: Feb 18, 2021
Accepted: Aug 02, 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jvetres-2021-0045
Keywords
© 2021 Y.K. Kim et al. published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
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.