Prophylaxis of Intranasally Induced Pollen Allergy in a BALB/C Mouse Model Using a Potential Prebiotic β-1, 4 Mannobiose

Abstract

Background: Dietary supplementation with unique prebiotic nondigestible carbohydrates has been shown to suppress allergy. In the present study, the prophylactic efficacy of a disaccharide p-1, 4 mannobiose (MNB) in a BALB/C mouse model of intranasally-induced pollen allergy was characterized. Methods: Balb/c mice were pretreated with MNB orally and sensitized with pollen extract intraperitoneally and intranasally and challenged with histamine and crude pollen extract. Outcomes were measured as clinical signs, antibody isotypes, cytokine gene and protein expression patterns. Results: The MNB-treated mice had lower sneezing frequency as compared to the positive control mice (P0.05). The MNB-treated mice had increased IFN-y (P0.05). Both total and Cry j1 and Cry j 2-specific IgA were increased in the high dose group. Real-time RT-PCR analysis indicated that IL-4 and IL-17 mRNA expression were lower in MNB-treated mice (P<0.05). Conclusions: This work provides insights into using MNB as a potential prebiotic immunomodulator via decreased clinical signs, improved type1/type 2 balance, and IgA production, thus validating the potential use of MNB as a prophylactic prebiotic candidate to attenuate allergic response.

Keywords

• BALB/c mouse
• disaccharide
• pollen allergy
• prebiotics
• prophylaxis
• β-1
• 4 mannobiose