ABSTRACT
Bronchial lavage of rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys provided leucocyte suspensions with viable histamine-containing cells (HCC) as 1--8% of the white cell population. These HCC released histamine or challenge with antiserum to human IgE. HCC from 2 monkeys with pulmonary and cutaneous hypersensitivity to Ascaris antigen (AA) released histamine on challenge with AA. The extent of histamine release was related to the concentration of antigen and antiserum, and histamine release was complete within 10 min of challenge. (+/-)Salbutamol and (-)isoprenaline were potent inhibitors of anaphylactic histamine release from HCC, but disodium cromoglycate and AH 9679 were relatively poor inhibitors. The HCC system combines the reproducibility of a cell suspension with a response to drugs similar to that of human lung fragments.
