Figure 3.

The anti-inflammatory effect of P. papatasi and P. duboscqi salivary extracts depends on PGE₂ production. OVA-immunized or control mice (sham-immunized) were treated with PBS or SGE from P. papatasi or P. duboscqi vector (one salivary gland/i.v./animal) 48 h before i.p. challenge with PBS or OVA (10 μg). Mice were also treated (as described in Materials and Methods) with indomethacin (Indo; 5 mg/Kg/s.c.), rofecoxibe (3 mg/Kg/s.c.), or vehicles before challenge. Six hours after challenge, peritoneal exudates were collected, and we determined the effect of SGE pretreatment on PGE₂ (A) levels by RIA and neutrophil migration (B) and the effect of P. papatasi pretreatment on MIP-1α (C) and LTB₄ (D) production by ELISA. Data are the mean ± sem and are representative of two experiments (n=5 per group); ^#, P < 0.05, compared with control group and immunized mice challenged with PBS; *, P < 0.05, compared with the PBS-treated group.