Alternaria alternata induced inflammatory lung responses: a novel in vivo PK/PD model

Rationale Asthma is a heterogeneous disorder characterized by several physiologic and immunologic phenotypes. Common environmental allergens such as pollen, house dust mite and mold induce airway inflammation and exacerbate asthmatic symptoms. Traditional rodent models of asthma use multiple sensitizations and challenges with allergens such as OVA and HDM to induce asthma like responses. Alternaria alternata is a fungal allergen linked to the development of severe asthma [1]. This allergen is capable of eliciting robust immune responses in the lungs [2]. In the current study we evaluated a single intratracheal (i.t.) instillation of Alternaria to model immune responses in Brown Norway rats.