The functional and physicochemical characterization of three eosinophilotactic activities released into the circulation by cold challenge of patients with cold urticaria.

The eosinophilic activity appearing in the venous effluent of the cold-induced angioedematous extremity of patients with cold urticaria has been resolved into three fractions by gel filtration and Dowex-1 chromatography. The low molecular weight activity, 300-700 mw, is highly acidic while the activity of 1000-3000 mw is composed of highly acidic and less acidic moieties. Each of the three activities has a different retention time on high pressure liquid chromatography, indicating that they represent distinct fractions which differ in size, charge, and hydrophobicity. Each fraction requires a gradient to attract eosinophils in a dose-response fashion and each deactivates eosinophils at subchemotactic concentrations. The more acidic 1000-3000 mw fractions also attract human monocytes in a chemotactic gradient at concentrations identical to those which attract human eosinophils. These three classes of eosinophil chemotactic activities and the activity for monocytes appear and disappear from the venous effluent with essentially the same time course as a distinct neutrophil chemotactic factor and histamine with cold induction of angioedema in patients with cold urticaria. The elaboration of these diverse chemoattractants in experimentally induced physical allergy provides potential pathways for mast cell-mediated infiltrative reactions.