Strain-dependent activation of NF-kappa B in the airway epithelium and its role in allergic airway inflammation

Alcorn JF, Ckless K, Brown AL, Guala AS, Kolls JK, Poynter ME, Irvin CG, van der Vliet A, Janssen-Heininger YM. Strain-dependent activation of NF-kappa B in the airway epithelium and its role in allergic airway inflammation. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 298: L57-L66, 2010. First published November 6, 2009; doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00037.2009. NF-kappa B activation in the airway epithelium has been established as a critical pathway in ovalbumin (Ova)-induced airway inflammation in BALB/c mice (Poynter ME, Cloots R, van Woerkom T, Butnor KJ, Vacek P, Taatjes DJ, Irvin CG, Janssen-Heininger YM. J Immunol 173: 7003-7009, 2004). BALB/c mice are susceptible to the development of allergic airway disease, whereas other strains of mice, such as C57BL/6, are considered more resistant. The goal of the present study was to determine the proximal signals required for NF-kappa B activation in the airway epithelium in allergic airway disease and to unravel whether these signals are strain-dependent. Our previous studies, conducted in the BALB/c mouse background, demonstrated that transgenic mice expressing a dominant-negative version of I kappa B alpha in the airway epithelium (CC10-I kappa B alpha(SR)) were protected from Ova-induced inflammation. In contrast to these earlier observations, we demonstrate here that CC10-I kappa B alpha SR transgenic mice on the C57BL/6 background were not protected from Ova-induced allergic airway inflammation. Consistent with this finding, Ova-induced nuclear localization of the RelA subunit of NF-kappa B was not observed in C57BL/6 mice, in contrast to the marked nuclear presence of RelA in BALB/c mice. Evaluation of cytokine profiles in bronchoalveolar lavage demonstrated elevated expression of TNF-alpha in BALB/c mice compared with C57BL/6 mice after an acute challenge with Ova. Finally, neutralization of TNF-alpha by a blocking antibody prevented nuclear localization of RelA in BALB/c mice after Ova challenge. These data suggest that the mechanism of response of the airway epithelium of immunized C57BL/6 mice to antigen challenge is fundamentally different from that of immunized BALB/c mice and highlight the potential importance of TNF-alpha in regulating epithelial NF-kappa B activation in allergic airway disease.