Distinct immune responses and pruritic mechanisms in oxazolone- and urushiol- induced ACD (Allergic contact dermatitis) models.

The mechanisms underlying pruritus and skin inflammation of poison ivy ACD remain poorly understood,due to limited clinical data and animal studies. Most of the mechanistic understanding of ACD is based upon animal models using experimental allergens not present in the environment, such as oxazolone,DNFB or SADBE . Recently, it has become evident that different allergens elicit widely divergent immune responses in both human and animals, suggesting these models may not be representative of environmental forms of ACD . Given the high incidence and public health impact of poison ivy-induced ACD, it is necessary to establish and characterize a clinically relevant animal model using the actual allergen urushiol. In this study we applied transcriptome microarray to evaluate the cutaneous immune response in urushiol ACD model. 4 hours after the last challenge, mice were sacrificed and neck skins were collected for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays.