실험 생쥐에서 BCG 백신과 DHEA 복합 투여의 천식 발생 예방효과

Background: Both Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccine and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) have a suppressive effect on asthma. Objective: To evaluate the effect of BCG and DHEA combination against the development of asthma. Method: Female BALB/c mice were sensitized and provoked with ovalbumin (OVA). One week before sensitization, BCG (1×105 CFUs) was administered intraperitoneally and the animals were fed with a diet incorporated with 0.01% (w/w) of DHEA for 4 weeks. Methacholine brochoprovocation tests and bronchoalveolar lavages (BAL) were carried out. Result: As compared with control, the combined BCG and DHEA treatment significantly suppressed both maximal airway resistance expressed as enhanced pause (P＜0.01) and airway hypersensitivity (35.0 vs. 10.2 mg/mL, P＜0.05) to methacholine, and BAL fluid eosinophilia (1.4±0.3 vs.10.7±1.4%, P＜0.001); however, the combination was not superior to each treatment. The level of IFN-γ in splenocyte supernatant was significantly higher in the combined group than that in control group (295.1 vs. 218.8 pg/mL, P＜0.05). Conclusion: A combined BCG and DHEA treatment suppresses the development of airway hyperresponsiveness and eosinophilic inflammation along with increased Th1 response in OVA-induced asthma mice. However, there is no beneficial effect of the combination above each. (Korean J Asthma Allergy Clin Immunol 2005;25:291-298)