Background: Several reports have been published on the gender differences associated with allergies in mice.
Goal: In the present study we investigate the influence of gender on allergy response using a strain of mice, B10.RIII, which is commonly used in the collagen-induced arthritis murine model.
Methods: Both male and female B10.RIII young mice were immunized with OVA and challenged four times with OVA intranasally. Samples were taken 24 h after the last challenge, and eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and parenchyma, Th-2 cytokines in BAL, total and antigen-specific IgE in sera, and antigen-specific T-cell proliferation were measured.
Results: Immunization in both male and female B10.RIII mice with OVA elicited a classical Th2-type response. Results showed no significant differences among male and female mice. Also a high eosinophilia in BAL fluid and parenchyma was produced in both genders without any significant differences. However, the deviation of both parameters was higher in young males compared to young females.
Conclusions: Gender differences, classically associated with some strains of mice, are not reproducible in B10.RIII mice. Gender differences in murine models of allergic airway inflammation are probably strain-dependent.