Figure 4.

Treatment of Jag1‐DCs reduced anti‐ovalbumin (OVA) IgE production and the severity of airway hyperresponsiveness in mice with OVA‐induced asthma. (a) Procedures of animal sensitization and challenge are briefly summarized. Mice were randomized into five groups. On days 1, 14, 28, and 44, all groups of mice were sensitized by an intraperitoneal injection of the OVA allergen (100 μg/mice). On day 45, 5 × 10⁵ OVA‐stimulated control dendritic cells (DCs), mock DCs [at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 500], and Jag1‐DCs (at MOIs of 50 and 500) were respectively transferred into four groups of mice. Positive control (PC) mice were injected with phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS) instead of cells. These mice were further challenged with OVA for five consecutive days (days 51–55), and the airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) was measured 1 day after the last challenge (on day 56). Serum was collected on day 56. (b) Jag1‐DCs inhibited OVA‐specific IgE production and (c) the development of AHR in mice with OVA‐induced asthma. Results are expressed as the mean ± SEM of five mice in each group. *P < 0·05, ***P < 0·001 versus the PC group. ^# P < 0·05, ^## P < 0·01 versus the control DC group. ⁺ P < 0·05, ⁺⁺ P < 0·01 versus the mock DC group.