Effect of beta-adrenergic blockade, pertussis vaccine and Freund's adjuvant on reaginic antibody response in mice.

IgE synthesis has been reported to be inhibited by theophylline and dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate and increased by pertussis vaccine. This study was done to determine if chronic beta-adrenergic blockade affects IgE antibody production. 72 C57BL/10J mice were sensitized with egg albumin (EA, 125 microng). Groups included: (1) EA alone; (2) EA + complete Freund's adjuvant (FA); (3) EA + B. pertussis (8 X 10(9) organisms); (4) EA + propranolol (0.5 mg/kg) 3 times/day; (5) EA + FA + propranolol; (6) saline alone. Booster was given on day 49. Group 1, given EA alone, failed to develop any passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) antibodies even after booster, whereas the 72-hour PCA titers ranged from 1/64 to 1/256 for groups treated with propranolol and propranolol + FA, respectively. The results suggest that chronic beta-adrenergic blockade enhances IgE antibody formation.