Dispersed human lung mast cells. Pharmacologic aspects and comparison with human lung tissue fragments

S. P. Peters, E. S. Schulman, R. P. Schleimer, D. W. MacGlashan, H. H. Newball, L. M. Lichtenstein

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

129 Scopus citations

Abstract

The present investigation was designed to study the histamine release and pharmacologic characteristics of dispersed human lung mast cells, particularly in comparison with parenchymal tissue fragments. Dispersed human lung mast cells were prepared by enzymatic treatment (yield, 0.5 to 2 x 10 6 mast cells/g tissue). Purity was 1 to 8% (mean, 3.6% ± 0.7%), and histamine content varied from 2 to 6 pg/cell (mean, 3.6 ± 0.5 pg/cell). Release, studied using anti-IgE as the stimulus, was relatively rapid, being essentially complete within 15 min when high concentrations of anti-IgE (≥ 0.3 μg/ml) were used and was not enhanced by phosphatidyl serine. The concentration of drug required to inhibit histamine release by 50% in dispersed cells for a series of pharmacologic agents, including the β-adrenergic agent fenoterol, the prostaglandin E 2, and the phosphodiesterase inhibitor isobutylmethylxanthine, were 0,1 to 1 μM, 50 μM, and 0.5 mM, respectively; similar results were obtained in simultaneous experiments performed using tissue fragments. Adenosine enhanced release (19 ± 3.4%) at low concentrations (10 μM) and inhibited release (61 ± 5.1%) at high concentrations (1 mM). The H 2 agonist, dimaprit (at 10 -5 to 10 -7 M) and prostaglandin D 2 (at 10 -4 to 10 -6 M) had no effect on histamine release, whereas deuterium oxide potentiated histamine release. This study serves to quantitate the pharmacologic effects of several agents on anti-IgE-mediated histamine release from dispersed human lung mast cells and has further suggested that the dispersed cell system is similar to the standard chopped lung system in dose-response relationships, kinetics, and pharmacologic modulation. It also indicates that the enzymatic treatment of the cells does not affect the release characteristics or functional capacity of several different receptors, and that this preparation, therefore, appears suitable as an in vitro human model of mediator release that can be used for the evaluation of pharmacologic agents and for further mast cell purification.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1034-1039
Number of pages6
JournalAmerican Review of Respiratory Disease
Volume126
Issue number6
StatePublished - Dec 1 1982
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine

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