Abstract
Urbanization with reduced microbial exposure is associated with an increased burden of asthma and atopic symptoms. Conversely, environmental exposure to endotoxins in childhood can protect against the development of allergies. Our study aimed to investigate whether the renaturation of the indoor environment with aerosolized radiation-detoxified lipopolysaccharide (RD-LPS) has a preventative effect against the development of ragweed-induced Th2-type airway inflammation. To explore this, cages of six-week-old BALB/c mice were treated daily with aerosolized native LPS (N-LPS) or RD-LPS. After a 10-week treatment period, mice were sensitized and challenged with ragweed pollen extract, and inflammatory cell infiltration into the airways was observed. As dendritic cells (DCs) play a crucial role in the polarization of T-cell responses, in our in vitro experiments, the effects of N-LPS and RD-LPS were compared on human monocyte-derived DCs (moDCs). Mice in RD-LPS-rich milieu developed significantly less allergic airway inflammation than mice in N-LPS-rich or common environments. The results of our in vitro experiments demonstrate that RD-LPS-exposed moDCs have a higher Th1-polarizing capacity than moDCs exposed to N-LPS. Consequently, we suppose that the aerosolized, non-toxic RD-LPS applied in early life for the renaturation of urban indoors may be suitable for the prevention of Th2-mediated allergies in childhood.