β-Glucan plus LPS promote corticosteroid resistant airway inflammation.

(A) Timeline for HDM sensitization and challenge, as in Fig 4, with and without i.p. dexamethasone (dex). (B) Airway inflammation in challenged and dex-treated C57BL/6 mice showing the number of total leukocytes), eosinophils (Siglec-F^hiGr-1^loCD11c^lo), neutrophils (Gr-1^hiCD11b^hiF4/80^lo) and T- cells (CD3⁺CD4⁺) in the BALF. (C) Pulmonary cytokine concentrations in BALF of challenged and treated mice, as indicated. The dotted line represents levels found in control (PBS) mice. (D) H&E and PAS stains (right) of formalin fixed lung sections from mice challenged as indicated. Scale bars represent 100 μm (H&E) and 50 μm (PAS). Quantification (left) of mucus producing goblet cell area in PAS stained sections. (E) Airway resistance (R) in intubated challenged and treated Balb/C wild type mice exposed to increasing doses of nebulised methacholine (MCh), as indicated. *p<0.05, n.s., not significant. Shown are the mean ± SEM of pooled data from two independent experiments (n = 8–10 mice/group).