Analysis of the mechanism for the development of allergic skin inflammation and the application for its treatment:establishment of a modified allergic dermatitis model in mouse ear lobes by application of 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol 13-acetate: putative involvement of thymic stromal lymphopoietin and roles of histamine.

We established a novel allergic dermatitis model in mouse ear lobes in which antigen-nonspecific inflammation was induced by painting 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) between sensitization and challenge with picryl chloride (PiCl). This model has an advantage for analyzing atopic dermatitis-like inflammation within a short period. Analysis of the time course changes in the PiCl-induced swelling showed that the allergic inflammation was shifted from a delayed-type response to a biphasic response consisting of a weak immediate-phase response and a late-phase response by painting with TPA. The application of TPA increased the PiCl-induced infiltration of eosinophils and mast cells at the inflammatory site and shifted the cytokine milieu from Th1 to Th2. The expression of the Th2-inducing cytokine thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) mRNA was also increased by TPA. These findings suggested that the induction of antigen-nonspecific inflammation by TPA before the antigen challenge enhanced the Th2 response and modified the PiCl-induced delayed type-hypersensitivity. Using this model, we clarified that histamine plays significant roles in the early-phase swelling via H(1) receptors and the late-phase swelling via H(3)/H(4) receptors. Thus, we suggested the usefulness of the combined treatment with an H(1) antagonist and an H(4) antagonist for the suppression of atopic dermatitis.