Developing an Atopic Dermatitis Model and the Effects of Actinidia Extract on Dermatitis in NC/Nga Mice

Background: Atopic dermatitisis a chronic itchy, inflammatory skin disease that usually relapses. Although the etiology of atopic dermatitisremains unclear, it has been shown that both Th1 and Th2 cytokines play pathogenic roles in the generation of atopic dermatitis. DA-9102 is a fraction from the Actinidiaspecies and DA-9102 displays immune modulating activity for allergy related disease. Objective: We have developed the atopic dermatitismodel of NC/Nga mice using DNCB and we examined whether DA-9102 suppresses the development of atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions on NC/Nga mice. Methods: NC/Nga mice were challenged with DNCB during 5 weeks to develop atopic dermatitis-like skin lesions. Daily DA-9102 or cyclosporine A or HPMC (control) were then given orally. The efficacy of DA-9102 in NC/Nga mice was judged by measurement of the skin lesion severity (a modified SCORADscore), the serum IgE and IgG2a levels and the cytokine levels (IFN- and IL-4) from spleen cells cultured with ConA. Results: Atopic dermatitis-like lesions were developed on the NC/Nga mice by using topical DNCB. Oral administration of 100 mg/kg DA-9102 significantly suppressed the development of dermatitis, as was analyzed by a modified SCORADscore (p in the NC/Nga mice of the DA-9102 group were lower than those of the control mice group (p