Role of capsaicin-sensitive trigeminal nerves in development of hyperreactive nasal symptoms in guinea pig model of nasal allergy.

The effect of capsaicin pretreatment on frequency of sneezing, decrease of nasal patency, and increase of vascular dye leakage induced by antigen or histamine challenge on the guinea pig nasal mucosa was investigated. The animals were sensitized intraperitoneally with ovalbumin. Capsaicin pretreatment significantly inhibited sneezing induced by nasal challenge with histamine and antigen, indicating that capsaicin-sensitive sensory nerves constitute an afferent pathway of the sneezing reflex in nasal allergy. Although capsaicin pretreatment tended to inhibit the decrease of nasal patency and the increase of vascular dye leakage of the nasal mucosa induced by antigen challenge, this tendency was not statistically significant. The present study indicated that the participation of a local reflex via capsaicin-sensitive trigeminal nerves in nasal vascular responses observed after antigen challenge in the guinea pig model of nasal allergy is rather small compared to the large direct vascular effects of chemical mediators released from basophilic cells in the nasal mucosa.