Allergic asthma is characterized by airway inflammation caused by infiltration and activation of inflammatory cells that produce cytokines. Many studies have revealed that c-kit, a proto-oncogene, and its ligand, stem cell factor (SCF), play an important role in the development of asthmatic inflammation. Intranasal small interference RNA (siRNA) nanoparticles targeting specific viral gene could inhibit airway inflammation. In this study, we assessed whether silencing of c-kit with intranasal small interference RNA could reduce inflammation in allergic asthma. A mouse model of experimental asthma was treated with intranasal administration of anti-c-kit siRNA to inhibit the expression of the c-kit gene. We assessed the inflammatory response in both anti-c-kit siRNA-treated and control mice. Local administration of siRNA effectively inhibited the expression of the c-kit gene and reduced airway mucus secretion and the infiltration of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Moreover, c-kit siRNA reduced the production of SCF, interleukin-4 (IL-4), and IL-5, but had no effect on interferon-γ (IFN-γ) generation. These results show that intranasal siRNA nanoparticles targeting c-kit can decrease the inflammatory response in experimental allergic asthma.
Keywords: asthma; c-kit; gene silencing; inflammation; small interference RNA.