Histamine release induced by human leukocyte lysates: effect of metabolic inhibitors and carbohydrates.

The effects of metabolic inhibitors and carbohydrates on histamine release induced by human leukocyte lysates have been studied to gain an understanding of the mechanism of histamine release in this system. Dinitrophenol produced 80% inhibition of histamine release at a concentration of 10(-3) M. Iodoacetic acid inhibited release to a lesser extent, and deoxyglucose had relatively little effect. Colchicine was a potent inhibitor of release and produced 88% inhibition at a 10(-3) M concentration. Puromycin and cycloheximide had essentially no effect on histamine release. Various sugars inhibited release with mannitol and glucose, producing greater than 50% inhibition at 10(-3) M concentrations. Other sugars inhibited histamine release to a lesser degree with the following order of potency: mannitol > glucose > sucrose > galactose > fructose. These studies suggest that intact, metabolically active cells are required for histamine release induced by human leukocyte lysates and that a secretory process is involved. The results also provide information on the possible nature of the histamine-releasing factor(s) in human leukocyte lysates.