Spontaneous release of histamine from basophils and histamine-releasing factor in patients with atopic dermatitis and food hypersensitivity.

Patients with hypersensitivity to food documented by a double-blind, placebo-controlled oral food challenge have been reported to have a high rate of release of histamine from basophils in vitro. To determine whether patients with atopic dermatitis and food hypersensitivity had similar high rates of spontaneous histamine release in vitro, whether dietary elimination of relevant food antigens affected this release, and whether a cytokine, histamine-releasing factor, could account for it, we evaluated 63 patients with atopic dermatitis and food hypersensitivity (38 of whom had eliminated the offending foods from their diets), 20 patients with atopic dermatitis without food hypersensitivity, and 18 normal volunteers. Patients with atopic dermatitis and food hypersensitivity were found to have higher rates of spontaneous release of histamine from basophils than controls (mean +/- SE, 35.1 +/- 3.9 percent vs. 2.3 +/- 0.2 percent; P less than 0.001). Those who had eliminated the offending food allergen from the diet for an extended period had a significantly lower rate of histamine release (3.7 +/- 0.5 percent; P less than 0.001). In patients with atopic dermatitis without food hypersensitivity, the rate (1.8 +/- 0.2 percent) did not differ from that in normal controls. Mononuclear cells from persons with food allergies spontaneously produced a histamine-releasing factor in vitro that provoked the release of histamine from the basophils of other food-sensitive persons, but not from those of normal controls. Patients who adhered to a restricted diet had a decline in the rate of spontaneous generation of the factor by their mononuclear cells. The histamine-releasing factor was found to activate basophils through surface-bound IgE. We conclude that in patients with food hypersensitivity, exposure to the relevant antigens produces a cytokine (histamine-releasing factor) that interacts with IgE bound to the surface of basophils, causing them to release histamine.

[1]  M. Kaliner,et al.  Neutrophils and mast cells. I. Human neutrophil-derived histamine-releasing activity. , 1987, Journal of immunology.

[2]  R. Naclerio,et al.  Studies of IgE-dependent histamine releasing factors: heterogeneity of IgE. , 1987, Journal of immunology.

[3]  A. Kagey‐Sobotka,et al.  Spontaneous histamine release after exposure to hyperosmolar solutions. , 1986, The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology.

[4]  G. Lembo,et al.  Human basophil releasability. II. Changes in basophil releasability in patients with atopic dermatitis. , 1986, The Journal of investigative dermatology.

[5]  J. Warner,et al.  Identification of histamine releasing factor(s) in the late phase of cutaneous IgE-mediated reactions. , 1986, Journal of immunology.

[6]  A. Kagey‐Sobotka,et al.  Basophil histamine release induced by a substance from stimulated human platelets. , 1986, Journal of immunology.

[7]  H. Sampson,et al.  Food hypersensitivity and atopic dermatitis: evaluation of 113 patients. , 1985, The Journal of pediatrics.

[8]  A. Fauci,et al.  A histamine-releasing factor from activated human mononuclear cells. , 1985, Journal of immunology.

[9]  E. Goetzl,et al.  A basophil-activating factor from human T lymphocytes. , 1984, Immunology.

[10]  H. Sampson,et al.  Increased plasma histamine concentrations after food challenges in children with atopic dermatitis. , 1984, The New England journal of medicine.

[11]  R. Patterson,et al.  Dissociation of IgE from receptors on human basophils. I. Enhanced passive sensitization for histamine release. , 1983, Journal of immunology.

[12]  R. Bowsher,et al.  A new radioenzymatic assay for histamine using purified histamine N-methyltransferase. , 1983, Life sciences.

[13]  C. May,et al.  Observations on high spontaneous release of histamine from leucocytes in vitro , 1982, Clinical allergy.

[14]  H. Sampson,et al.  Human IgE synthesis in vitro: a reassessment. , 1981, Journal of immunology.

[15]  P. Holt,et al.  Production of a histamine-releasing lymphokine by antigen- or mitogen-stimulated human peripheral T cells. , 1981, Clinical and experimental immunology.

[16]  A. Notkins,et al.  Enhancement of IgE-mediated histamine release from human basophils by immune-specific lymphokines. , 1980, Clinical and experimental immunology.

[17]  J. A. Grant,et al.  Histamine-releasing activity (HRA). I. Production by mitogen- or antigen-stimulated human mononuclear cells. , 1979, Journal of immunology.

[18]  J. A. Grant,et al.  Histamine-releasing activity (HRA). II. Interaction with basophils and physicochemical characterization. , 1979, Journal of immunology.

[19]  C. May.  High spontaneous release of histamine in vitro from leukocytes of persons hypersensitive to food. , 1976, The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology.

[20]  H. Gilbert,et al.  Basophil counting with a new staining method using alcian blue. , 1975, Blood.

[21]  A. G. Osler,et al.  Studies on the mechanisms of hypersensitivity phenomena. XIV. Passive sensitization in vitro of human leukocytes to ragweed pollen antigen. , 1966, Journal of immunology.

[22]  G. W. James,et al.  A Simple Direct Method for Absolute Basophil Leucocyte Count.∗ , 1953, Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine. Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine.

[23]  P. Kuna,et al.  The magnitude of the spontaneous production of histamine-releasing factor (HRF) by lymphocytes in vitro correlates with the state of bronchial hyperreactivity in patients with asthma. , 1987, The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology.

[24]  H. Sampson,et al.  Role of immediate food hypersensitivity in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis. , 1983, The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology.