A guinea pig model of acute and chronic asthma using permanently instrumented and unrestrained animals
- 27 July 2006
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature Protocols
- Vol. 1 (2), 840-847
- https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2006.144
Abstract
To investigate mechanisms underlying allergen-induced asthmatic reactions, airway hyperresponsiveness and remodeling, we have developed a guinea pig model of acute and chronic asthma using unanesthetized, unrestrained animals. To measure airway function, ovalbumin (IgE)-sensitized animals are permanently instrumented with a balloon-catheter, which is implanted inside the pleural cavity and exposed at the neck of the animal. Via an external cannula, the balloon-catheter is connected to a pressure transducer, an amplifier, an A/D converter and a computer system, enabling on-line measurement of pleural pressure (Ppl)—closely correlating with airway resistance—for prolonged periods of time. Using aerosol inhalations, the method has been successfully applied to measure ovalbumin-induced early and late asthmatic reactions and airway hyperresponsiveness. Because airway function can be monitored repeatedly, intra-individual comparisons of airway responses (e.g., to study drug effects) are feasible. Moreover, this model is suitable to investigate chronic asthma and airway remodeling, which occurs after repeated allergen challenges. The protocol for establishing this model takes about 4 weeks.Keywords
This publication has 35 references indexed in Scilit:
- Arginase and asthma: novel insights into nitric oxide homeostasis and airway hyperresponsivenessTrends in Pharmacological Sciences, 2003
- Modeling asthma and COPD in animals: a pointless exercise?Current Opinion in Pharmacology, 2003
- AsthmaAmerican Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2000
- Inflammatory cell distribution in guinea pig airways and its relationship to airway reactivityMediators of Inflammation, 2000
- The guinea-pig is not a rodentNature, 1996
- Relationships among allergen-induced early and late phase airway obstructions, bronchial hyperreactivity, and inflammation in conscious, unrestrained guinea pigsJournal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 1994
- A novel method to assess airway function parameters in chronically instrumented, unrestrained guinea-pigsPulmonary Pharmacology, 1992
- Early and Late-Phase Bronchoconstriction After Allergen Challenge of Nonanesthetized Guinea Pigs: I. The Association of Disordered Airway Physiology to Leukocyte InfiltrationAmerican Review of Respiratory Disease, 1988
- Bronchoalveolar Lavage and Histologic Characterization of Late Asthmatic Response in Guinea PigsAmerican Review of Respiratory Disease, 1987
- Experimental Asthma in Guinea Pigs RevisitedInternational Archives of Allergy and Immunology, 1984