Histamine release from basophils in childhood: age dependency and inhibition by pertussis infection and pertussis toxin.

The influence of childhood pertussis infection and of purified pertussis toxin on histamine release from human basophil leucocytes was investigated. Three different stimuli, the peptide N-formyl-Met-Phe (NFMP), anti-IgE, and the calciumionophore A23187 were used to challenge the cells. When NFMP was the stimulus, histamine release in the control group (age 0.5-17 years) increased in an age-dependent fashion, whereas anti-IgE and A23187 stimulated release did not vary with age. During the convulsive state of pertussis infection there was a significant reduction of histamine release in response to 10 microM NFMP (from 9.5 +/- 1.4 [n = 21] to 6.7 +/- 1.5 [n = 19], P < 0.05) and in response to 800 and 80 U/ml anti-IgE (from 28.5 +/- 5 [n = 19] to 16.3 +/- 5 [n = 13], P < 0.05, and from 6.9 +/- 1.7 [n = 16] to 2 +/- 0.8 [n = 13], P < 0.01), whereas histamine release stimulated by A23187 was unchanged compared to release in control children. In vitro pretreatment of basophils from healthy children and adults with pertussis toxin also inhibited histamine release. When NFMP was the stimulus, release was completely blocked by pertussis toxin with an IC50 of about 11 ng/ml, whereas anti-IgE stimulated release was only inhibited by 20%-30% and release induced by A23187 was reduced to 40%-50% by toxin treatment. In conclusion we have demonstrated a functional impairment of histamine release during the convulsive state of pertussis and that this inhibition is likely to be mediated by pertussis toxin.