Analysis of the spontaneous scratching behavior by NC/Nga mice: a possible approach to evaluate antipruritics for subjects with atopic dermatitis

We investigated the spontaneous scratching by NC/Nga mice to design a new method for evaluating the itch of subjects with atopic dermatitis. The numbers of scratchings in various strains of mice were classified based on the duration of the scratching. Prolonged scratching was frequent in skin-lesioned NC/Nga mice, but not in ICR, BALB/c and non-lesioned NC/Nga mice. Pretreatment with dexamethasone or tacrolimus significantly suppressed long-duration scratching in NC/Nga mice but did not suppress short-duration scratching induced by ovalbumin active cutaneous anaphylaxis in BALB/c mice and in ICR mice subcutaneously injected with histamine. In contrast, pretreatment with chlorpheniramine or ketotifen significantly suppressed short-duration scratching induced by ovalbumin active cutaneous anaphylaxis in BALB/c mice and in ICR mice subcutaneously injected with histamine, but not long-duration scratching seen in NC/Nga mice. These findings indicate that the mechanism of spontaneous scratching in NC/Nga mice differs from that induced by several pruritogen injections. This new method shows good correlation with the therapeutic activity of drugs in cases of atopic dermatitis in humans and may serve as a useful model for evaluating antipruritic drugs and for studying mechanisms involved in atopic dermatitis. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.