Figure 2. Treg cells and lung resistance analysis after administration of various drug combinations between glucocorticoids and IL-2.

Female BALB/c mice were immunized with OVA i.p on days 1 and 8, followed by intranasal (i.n) 2% OVA challenges on days 9–14. Drugs were administrated intratracheally on days 12–14. On day 15, mice were sacrificed and analyzed. (a–c) Detection of CD4+FoxP3+ Treg cells after 3 days of treatment with different doses of IL-2 plus dexamethasone (Dex) (a), IL-2(PEG) plus Dex (b) and IL-2(PEG) plus budesonide (Bud) (c) in asthma model mice with a fixed ratio between two drugs (40,000 IU IL-2: 1 μg glucocorticoid). The upregulation of Treg cells was dose-dependent and different dosage forms could upregulate Treg cells and alleviate asthma in various doses. (d) Synthetic analysis of the upregulation of Treg cells in three dosage forms. (e) AHR analysis between treated and untreated mice. Results represent the changes in lung resistance (Rl) as a measure of AHR. *p < 0.05. (a–c) Data are presented as means ± SEM (n = 8 per group and data point). Treated group versus untreated group by Student’s t test. (e) Data are presented as means ± SEM (n ≥ 4 per group and data point); here representative results from 1 of 2 experiments are shown. Treated group versus blank group by Student’s t test. Blank group, health control mice. Nacl group, asthma model mice treated with normal saline.