Wistar strain rats as the model for IgE antibody experiments

The amount of plasma IgE antibody formed and its change over time were inve stigated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in male and female Sp rague-Dawley (SD), Donryu, and Wistar strain rats. IgE antibody formation w as initiated by injecting a mixture of 2,4-dinitrophenylated ascaris extrac t (DNP-As) as antigen and killed Bordetella pertussis as adjuvant into the paws of the animals. The amount of IgE antibody formed was low on day 10 in both male and female SD (40-80 ng/ml) and Donryu (20-40 ng/ml) strain rats , and an increase in the amount was observed on day 20. The peak value of I gE antibody was observed day 10 in Wistar strain rats and was 130 and 200 n g/ml in the male and female rats, respectively. These results suggest that Wistar strain rats produce the most IgE antibody when DNP-As is used as ant igen and they can serve as a model for allergic diseases.