Influence of IL-27 on airway inflammation of asthmatic guinea pigs

Objective To study the influence of IL-27 on airway inflammation of asthmatic guinea pigs induced by ovalbumin(OVA).Methods 24 female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into saline group,asthmatic model group and IL-27 group with each group of 8 ones.Asthmatic model was established with the application of OVA,1 μg IL-27 dissolved in 50 μl PBS was administered intranasally to IL-27 group,and then lung histopathological change was observed and eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) were counted in 3 groups;IL-4 and IFN-γ in BALF were detected with ELISA,expression of T-bet mRNA in lung tissue was detected with RT-PCR.Results Inflammatory response in lung tissue of IL-27 group was less than that of asthmatic model group;compared with those in asthmatic model group,eosinophil counting in BALF was significantly decreased [(2.21±0.33)×107/L vs(12.82±2.17)×107/L,P0.01];IL-4 concentration in BALF was significantly decreased [(20.4±3.2) μg/L vs(61.3±13.1) μg/L,P0.05)] while IFN-γ concentration in BALF was significantly increased [(50.3±6.3) μg/L vs(11.1±3.3) μg/L,P0.05) ] and T-bet mRNA synthesis(ratio of integral absorbance) in lung tissue was significantly increased [(0.268±0.048) vs(0.130±0.012),P0.05)] in IL-27 group.Conclusion IL-27 maybe strengthen Th1 response and reduce number of eosinophils in BALF so as to reduce lung tissue inflammation in asthmatic guinea pigs by increasing T-bet mRNA expression.