Fig. 1
Procedure used in the experiments to establish atopic dermatitis (AD) and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in C57BL/6 mice. Over a period of five days, the mice were intragastrically inoculated with 300 mL phosphate-buffered saline containing 1 × 109 CFU/mL H. pylori SS1 after overnight fasting. Age-matched control mice were given physiological saline devoid of H. pylori SS1. After 6 weeks of H. pylori infection, 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) was repeatedly applied to a local site to produce skin lesions that resembled AD. All groups, with the exception of the control group (HP-AD-group), received 200 µL of 1% DNCB solution twice daily for a week as part of the initial inflammation induction process. The HP-AD- group received treatment using the vehicle. Following the sensitization, the dorsal skin was repeatedly challenged with 100 µL of 0.5% DNCB dissolved in acetone and olive oil (4:1) twice a week for two weeks