免疫学技术

The bronchial epithelium has been increasingly recognized as an important immunomodulatory compartment in asthma and other lung diseases. Clara cells, which comprise the nonciliated secretory epithelial cells, are an important epithelial cell type with functions in the regul ...

This chapter describes the use of bilateral vagotomy as a tool for determining autonomic regulation of airway responses to the exogenous bronchoconstrictor thromboxane mimetic U46619 in an acute model of asthma in the mouse. Mice receive a sensitization of ovalbumin (OVA) and adjuvant f ...

This chapter provides an outline of the procedures necessary to measure airway hyperresponsiveness to inhaled methacholine in mouse models of allergic lung disease. We present a method for acquiring detailed measurements of respiratory mechanics using broadband low-frequen ...

Sensitization of mice to real-life allergens or harmless antigen with the use of adjuvants will lead to the induction of DAMPs in the immune system. We have shown that the Th2-inducing adjuvant aluminum hydroxide or exposure of the airways to house dust mite leads to the release of DAMPs: uric acid, ATP, a ...

The ability to accurately mimic normal processes for sensitization and allergen challenge in an experimental animal model are useful in that they allow researchers to critically manipulate the complex interactions of multiple cell types. In the context of the allergic lung, multiple c ...

Mouse models of allergic airway inflammation have proven essential in understanding the mechanisms and pathophysiology underling human asthma. There is a diverse range of mouse models described in the literature that typically vary slightly by allergen, duration of exposure, and r ...

We describe a method for allergic rhinitis (AR) induction in mice. Methodology involves nasal infusions of small volumes of ovalbumin for both initial sensitization and challenges. The latter are frequent and carried out over several weeks. This methodology more closely resembles nat ...

The contact hypersensitivity (CHS) reaction is commonly utilized to study cell-mediated host immune responses to epicutaneously applied allergens. This reaction is divided into two distinct phases, the afferent phase and the efferent phase. During the afferent phase of this model, m ...

Mouse models of systemic anaphylaxis are important tools for the study of mast cell function, for the elucidation of the pathomechanisms of anaphylaxis, and for identifying and characterizing potential therapies for anaphylaxis. Here, we describe two murine models of systemic anaph ...

While much is understood about dendritic cells and their role in the immune system, the study of these cells is critical to gain a more complete understanding of their function. Dendritic cell isolation from mouse body tissues can be difficult and the number of cells isolated small. This protocol d ...

Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) are commonly utilized as a primary cell culture model and have several advantages over other types of ex vivo-derived cells. However, the successful generation of MEFs is time consuming and requires a certain level of mouse expertise to successfully com ...

The innate immune system is evolutionarily conserved and shared by a wide spectrum of cells, including epithelial cells, endothelial cells, fibroblasts, macrophages, dendritic cells, and lymphocytes. The extensive utilization of genetically manipulated animals in innate im ...

Oxidative metabolism is one of the central physiological processes that regulate multiple functions in a cell including cell death and survival, proliferation, gene transcription, and protein modification. There are multitudes of techniques that are used to evaluate oxidative a ...

Neutrophils are one of the first cells to respond to an inflammatory stimulus, and are equipped with an assortment of antimicrobial and proteolytic enzymes to disarm and degrade bacterial pathogens. A novel mechanism of bacterial trapping, termed neutrophil extracellular traps (NE ...

Peritoneal macrophages are invaluable for gaining an understanding of innate immune responses due to their physiological relevance. These macrophages can be harvested from the peritoneum to give a resident population or can be elicited through the use of thioglycollate. This chapt ...

Macrophages are cellular components of the immune system that are essential for responding to pathogens, initiating inflammation, and maintaining tissue homeostasis. Isolation, culture, and functional characterization of bone marrow-derived macrophages from mice are ex ...

Mice reconstituted with human immune cells represent a model to study the development and functionality of the human immune system. Recent improvements in humanized mice have resulted in multi-lineage hematopoiesis, prolonged human cell engraftment that is detectable in many mou ...

Engraftment of immunodeficient mice with a human immune system (humanized mice) provides a model system to study pathogens that target human immune cells. Humanized Rag2−/−γc−/− mice produce the major target cells of HIV-1 and these cells can be detected in primary and secondary lymphoid tis ...

The term “severe malaria” refers to a wide spectrum of syndromes in Plasmodium-infected humans including cerebral malaria (CM), respiratory distress, severe anemia, liver dysfunction, and hypoglycemia. Mouse models have been employed to further our understanding of the pathology ...

Mouse models have proven to be a key approach in our understanding of the etiology and physiology underlying bacterial mediated gastrointestinal inflammation. Generally, these models are based on the inoculation of genetically susceptible mice with either commensal or pathogen ...