Fig. 1.

Time course showing the changes in the numbers of lung MCp's and MCs in trachea and large airways of sensitized BALB/c mice on various days after the last of seven daily challenges. (A) The protocol of OVA-induced airway inflammation. BALB/c mice were sensitized with OVA adsorbed to alum on days 0 and 7 and either not challenged (NC) or challenged with aerosolized OVA daily on days 17–23. Mice from the original cohort were analyzed on day 24 (D1 postchallenge), day 27 (D4 postchallenge), or day 30 (D7 postchallenge). (B) The number of lung MCp's per 10⁶ MNCs (Top), total lung MCp's per mouse (Middle), and isolated lung MNCs per mouse (Bottom) from NC mice or from challenged mice evaluated on D1, D4, or D7 postchallenge. The challenged values are the mean (± SE) from four separate experiments at each time point with 12 mice/group and the NC values are from 6 mice (two experiments). (C) The number of intraepithelial MMCs per cm² in large bronchi (greater than 200 μm, Top), the number of MMCs per three tracheal rings (Middle), and the number of submucosal CTMCs per three tracheal rings (Bottom). Values are the mean (± SE) from NC: 6 mice, two experiments; D1: 12 mice, four experiments; D4: 30 mice, nine experiments; and D7: 20 mice, six experiments. ND, none detected; *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001.