INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN NITRIC OXIDE FORMATION AND HYPERSENSITIVITY PARAMETERS UNDER GUINEA PIG MODEL OF ACUTE ASTHMA WITH MULTIPLE CHALLENGES.

An immunoregulatory role of nitric oxide (NO) in the development of adaptive immune responses associated with allergic diseases is very important. The present study extended these observations by the examination of the reciprocal changes in characteristic immunologic parameters of the disease and NO level of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells under guinea pig model of acute asthma with multiple challenges. Development of guinea pig Th2 mediated asthma was accompanied by increasing the level of allergic markers: ovalbumin (OVA) specific IgG and IL-4. We demonstrated that the infiltrate of airway cells contributes to NO synthesis in the respiratory tract during allergic inflammation. The level of intracellular NO formation significantly correlated with plasma allergen specific IgG value in OVA-induced asthma. The presented data evidence that the elevated intracellular NO level in BAL fluid may reflect a nitrosative stress in respiratory tract in general, when allergic asthma exacerbation is present.