Relationship between airway hyperreactivity and hyperpermeability in Ascaris-sensitive monkeys.

In four Ascaris-sensitive rhesus monkeys, we measured the fractional absorption of 3H-histamine (3HH) and airway response, as pulmonary resistance (R1), to standard histamine aerosols containing tracer amounts of 3HH for control runs (Run 1) and runs after Ascaris antigen challenge (Run 2). The mean rate of accumulation of radioactivity in the plasma volume as a function of delivered dose during histamine exposure (2 min) was fivefold greater for Run 2 (0.047% delivered dose/min) as compared with Run 1 (0.009% delivered dose/min). Whereas histamine inhalation led to insignificant (less than 25%) increases in R1 over control in Run 1. R1 increased by 247% over control after histamine inhalation in Run 2. Thus, both airway hyperpermeability and hyperreactivity to inhaled histamine were observed following specific antigen challenge in this animal model. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that airway mucosal hyperpermeability induced by an allergic reaction is one of the factors contributing to airway hyperreactivity by increasing flows of inhaled bronchoactive agents to effector sites in the airway wall.