Figure 5. Effects of dexamethasone, TLR7 or TLR9 agonists on cellular influx and airway hyperreactivity in mice subjected to the triple allergen challenge model.

Therapeutic treatment with dexamethasone, R848, or CpG-ODNs was started in the 4^th week of allergen challenge. CpG-ODNs and R848 were given i.tr. (1 mg/kg) and dexamethasone was administered orally (1 m/kg) as shown in Figure 1C. Treatment was given twice weekly one hour prior to allergen challenge. 24 h after the last allergen challenge mice were sacrificed and absolute numbers of total cells, eosinophils, neutrophils and macrophages (A) were measured in whole lung lavage. Data are presented as mean ± SEM, n  =  8–12/group. Lung function was assessed 22 h after final challenge on day 70 via invasive measurement of resistance (B) and compliance (D). The area under the curve (AUC) is shown for resistance (C) and compliance (E). Results represent mean ± SEM for 8–12 mice/group. *P<0.05; **P<0.01; ***P<0.001 in comparison to the PBS control mice and ^§§ P<0.01, ^§§§ P<0.001 in comparison to the triple allergen combination (TAC) group.