Fig. 6.

Exogenous IL-33 reverses the suppressive effects of Ad5-gsgAM on asthma. Six-week-old mice were sensitized with OVA, immunized with Ad5 or Ad5-gsgAM, inoculated with saline or mouse IL-33 (termed as OVA/gsgAM/mIL-33), and then challenged with OVA. Twenty-four hours after the final challenge, the mice were sacrificed. a Schedules of OVA sensitization, immunization, IL-33 inoculation, OVA challenge, and detection. b The absolute numbers of total cells, eosinophils, and macrophages in the BALFs were counted based on H&E staining. c The percentages of total cells, eosinophils, and macrophages in the BALFs. d The contents of IgE in the serums of the experimental mice were determined by ELISA. e–h The contents of IL-5 (e), IL-13 (f), IL-33 (g), and sST2 (h) in the BALFs were determined by ELISA. i The IL-4-secreting cells in the splenocytes. j The IL-4-secreting cells in the MLN lymphocytes. k The IFN-γ-secreting cells in the splenocytes. l The IFN-γ-secreting cells in the MLN lymphocytes. Lymphocytes from the spleens and MLNs were stimulated with 10 μg/ml ConA or 10 μg/ml OVA. After a 24-h incubation for IFN-γ or a 48-h incubation for IL-4 detection, the IL-4- or IFN-γ-secreting cells were assessed by ELISpot. Data are presented as the mean ± SEM (n = 5 mice per group). Representative results from one of three independent experiments are shown. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001