Concomitant histamine, interleukin 4, and interleukin 6 production by hematopoietic progenitor subsets in response to interleukin 3.

Murine interleukin 3 (IL-3) induces a strong, concomitant increase in histamine, interleukin 6 (IL-6), and interleukin 4 (IL-4) synthesis by progenitor-enriched bone marrow cell populations, whereas interleukin 2 (IL-2) or interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) are undetectable. This phenomenon is observed between 4 and 12 h after exposure to the growth factor and attains maximal cytokine and histamine levels within 24 and 48 h, respectively. None of these mediators is produced by lymphoid populations such as lymph node cells or by granulocytes. Splenocytes secrete only low histamine and IL-6 levels, in accordance with the lower incidence of progenitors in the spleen, whereas total bone marrow cells generate substantial amounts of the three mediators even before enrichment. Histamine, IL-4-, and IL-6-producing cells copurify with immature cells and cannot be separated from each other throughout the sorting procedures used herein. They are concentrated in the low-density layers (buoyant density 1.069-1.086 g/cm3) of a discontinuous Ficoll gradient (less than 4% of the total bone marrow) together with the majority of hematopoietic progenitors (marrow-repopulating ability [MRA] cells, spleen colony-forming units [CFU-S] day-8 and day-12, granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units [CFU-GM], and mast cell precursors). Their lightscatter characteristics are those of relatively large, granular cells. They do not belong to the most primitive stem cell subset (MRA and part of CFU-S day-12), but to a population with high mitochondrial activity identified by their important rhodamine retention (colony-forming unit cells [CFU-C], blast cells). In addition, we provide evidence that histamine, IL-4, and IL-6 do not depend on each other for their respective expression. Taken together, our data are consistent with the notion that in certain conditions, immature hematopoietic cells are a potent source of histamine and cytokines.