Oral exposure to drugs with immune-adjuvant potential induces hypersensitivity responses to the reporter antigen TNP-OVA.

Immune-mediated drug hypersensitivity reactions are important causes of black box warnings and drug withdrawals. Despite the high demand for preclinical screening tools, no validated in vitro or in vivo models are available. In the current study, we used a previously described oral administration model using trinitrophenyl-ovalbumin (TNP-OVA) as an antigen to report immuno-adjuvating effects of the analgesic drug acetaminophen (APAP) and its nonhepatotoxic regioisomer 3'-hydroxyacetanilide (AMAP), the antibiotic ofloxacin (OFLX), the antiepileptic drug carbamazepine (CMZ), and the antidiabetic drug metformin (MET). Furthermore, APAP and AMAP were tested in a popliteal lymph node assay (PLNA) combined with TNP-OVA as reporter antigen (RA). C3H/HeOuJ mice were dosed by oral gavage with diclofenac (DF), APAP, AMAP, OFLX, MET, or CMZ. On the first exposure day, the mice received an ip injection with TNP-OVA. Fifteen days later, they were ear challenged with TNP-OVA and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses were assessed 24 h later. One week after challenge, the ear-draining lymph node was removed and TNP-specific antibody-secreting cells were determined. DF, APAP, CMZ, and OFLX showed a significant increase in DTH responses to ear injection with TNP-OVA, whereas AMAP and MET did not. C57BL/6 mice were slightly less responsive to APAP and DF after oral gavage, and importantly both AMAP and APAP were negative in the RA-PLNA. The present work shows that the oral exposure model using RA and the RA-PLNA may serve to screen the immune-adjuvant potential of new chemical entities during preclinical drug development.

In vivo labeling with 2H2O reveals a human neutrophil lifespan of 5.4 days.

Neutrophils are essential effector cells of the innate immune response and are indispensable for host defense. Apart from their antimicrobial functions, neutrophils inform and shape subsequent immunity. This immune modulatory functionality might however be considered limited because of their generally accepted short lifespan (< 1 day). In contrast to the previously reported short lifespans acquired by ex vivo labeling or manipulation, we show that in vivo labeling in humans with the use of (2)H(2)O under homeostatic conditions showed an average circulatory neutrophil lifespan of 5.4 days. This lifespan is at least 10 times longer than previously reported and might lead to reappraisal of novel neutrophil functions in health and disease.

An in vivo tiered approach to test immunosensitization by low molecular weight compounds.

New chemical entities are tested in general toxicity assays during development before entering clinical trials. However, immunosensitization of these entities is not tested on a standard basis. There are no in vitro or in vivo standardized methods available for testing immunosensitization or immunostimulation. In this chapter, we describe a tiered strategy oral exposure model for assessing immunosensitization or immunostimulation capacity of low molecular weight compounds. The strategy starts from a set of data that may provide information on bioactivation, conjugation (hapten-protein conjugate formation), cytotoxicity and signs of inflammation in any of the animals in a 28 day-toxicity study. In case of concern, a reporter antigen-popliteal lymph node assay (RA-PLNA) and, subsequently, an oral exposure experiment with the reporter antigen can be performed. Based on the presence of RA-specific immune responses an indication for immunosensitization can be found.