Development of new atopic dermatitis models characterized by not only itching but also inflammatory skin in mice

The present study was performed to develop a new atopic dermatitis model characterized by not only itching but also inflammatory skin using BALB/c mice. From 18 days after the first systemic immunization, daily epicutaneous application of ovalbumin was performed for 2 weeks. Antigen challenge (ovalbumin) resulted in a significant increase of scratching behavior from day 23 to day 32. Moreover, skin symptoms such as erythema/hemorrhage, edema, excoriation/erosion and dryness/desquamation were also observed from day 19 to day 32. The frequency of scratching in the first stage (from day 24 to day 26 after the systemic first immunization) was decreased by chlorpheniramine and epinastine; however, in the last stage (from day 27 to day 30 after the systemic first immunization), both drugs showed no inhibition of scratching behavior. Therefore, an endogenous mediator other than histamine may be responsible for provoking the itching sensation in the last stage. Naloxone dose-dependently reduced the frequency of scratching in the last stage. Moreover, repeated local application of dexametasone significantly inhibited both scratching behavior and skin symptoms from day 24 to day 30. From these findings, it may be concluded that this model is essentially similar to atopic dermatitis in humans and could be used to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms of atopic dermatitis and to develop appropriate new drugs for therapy.