Contribution of serum IL-4 and IgE to the early prediction of horse serum allergies in guinea pigs

BACKGROUND Horse serum (HS) was a strong allergen for xenogeneic animals. However, the methods of test for allergen didn't authorized in Pharmacopeia of the United States, European Pharmacopeia, Japanese Pharmacopeia and British Pharmacopeia. Thus, new methods of test for allergen are required to control drug allergy. OBJECTIVE To propose a new method for detecting horse serum induced allergic reactions of guinea pigs earlier. METHODS Guinea pigs were sensitized successively by injecting different concentration of HS intravenously once a day for three times, serum level of IL-4 and total IgE were detected by method of enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) before guinea pigs were challenged by injecting HS intravenously only once, and the results were compared with routine method of sensitization by injecting HS intraperitoneally every other day for three times. RESULTS Serum level of IL-4 and total IgE increased significantly before guinea pigs were challenged, either in day 8 after intravenous sensitization (10%HS, 0.5 mL) or in day 14 and day 21 after intraperitoneal sensitization (10%HS, 0.5 mL), and allergic reactions occurred in all guinea pigs after challenged by injecting HS (10%, 1.0 mL) only once. CONCLUSION It provides a new way to predict whether HS or other drugs can provoke allergic reactions earlier by detecting the serum level of IL-4 and total IgE in d8 after intravenous sensitization, this has a good application value in drug emergency test.