Figure 3.

Knockdown of RANKL reduces infiltration of eosinophils, mast cells, and Treg cells into the AR nasal mucosa tissues. Mice were sensitized on Days 1, 5, and 14 by i.p. injections of 100 μg of OVA emulsified in 20 mg of aluminium hydroxide, after which they received local injections of RANKL siRNA and control siRNA, or PBS alone into the nasal cavity, and were challenged with intranasal OVA for 10 days. (a) Nasal mucosa were stained with haematoxylin and eosin (h,e) for eosinophils, Alcian blue and Safranin O (a,s) for mast cells, and immunohistochemical diaminobenzidine stain (for Foxp3) for Treg cells. (b) Mast cells, eosinophils, and Foxp3+ Treg cells were counted by two individuals, after which five randomly selected tissue sections per mouse were counted. The absolute number of cells is shown as the mean ± SEM. ^# P < 0.05; significantly different from OVA‐unsensitized mice. *P < 0.05; significantly different from control siRNA OVA‐sensitized mice. Scale bar = 100 μm