Triple selectin knockout (ELP-/-) mice fail to develop OVA-induced acute asthma phenotype

Objective. the recruitment of leukocytes from circulation to sites of inflammation requires several families of adhesion molecules among which are selectins expressed on a variety of cells. in addition,they have also been shown to play key roles in the activation of cells in inflammation. methods. to explore the collective role of e-,l-,and p- selectins in ova-induced th2 mediated response in acute asthma pathophysiology,elp-/- mice were used and compared with age-matched wildtype (wt). results: asthma phenotype was assessed by measuring pulmonary function,inflammation and ova-specific serum ige,which were completely abrogated in elp-/- mice. adoptive transfer of sensitized l selectin+cd4+ t cells into nave elp-/- mice which post-ova challenge,developed asthma,suggesting that l-selectin may be critically involved in the onset of th2 response in asthma. tissue resident elp-deficient cells were otherwise functionally competent as proved by normal proliferative response. conclusions:comparative studies between elp-/- and wt mice uncovered functional roles of these three integrins in inflammatory response in allergic asthma. all three selectins seem to impede inflammatory migration while only l-selectin also possibly regulates activation of specific t cell subsets in lung and airways. © 2011 banerjee; licensee biomed central ltd.