Abstract
Delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) in skin is evaluated based on swelling of the ear treated with hapten, but no such model is available for the oral cavity. An oral model to evaluate DTH based on the thickness of the tongue was investigated. Mice were sensitized by the application of 2, 4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) to the skin of the back. Thereafter, the tongue mucosa was challenged by DNCB to elicit DTH. Swelling of the tongue on the treated side was observed, and the effect was greater in the sensitized group than unsensitized group. In the tongue mucosa treated with DNCB, infiltration of CD4+T cells, CD8+T cells and CD25+T cells was demonstrated. An increase in mRNA for IL1-β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, TNF-α and granzyme B, but not IFN-γ and IL-4 was observed. This model represents the characteristics of DTH in which swelling of the tongue, the mucosal infiltration of T cells and the expression of cytokines occur.
