Human basophil/mast cell releasability. V. Functional comparisons of cells obtained from peripheral blood, lung parenchyma, and bronchoalveolar lavage in asthmatics

Releasability of human basophils and mast cells is an important parameter in allergic disorders. We compared IgE- and non-IgE-mediated releasability of human peripheral blood basophils with that of mast cells obtained from lung parenchyma (isolated by mechanical or enzymatic dissociation) and from bronchoalveolar lavage of normal and asthmatic donors. In a first study, the response to anti-IgE, Staph A, Con A, f-met peptide, and Ca²⁺ ionophore A23187 of basophils obtained from 52 donors was compared with that of mast cells isolated enzymatically (PMC(E)) or mechanically (PMC(M)) from lung parenchyma obtained during surgery. The histamine content of basophils (1.1 ± 0.1 pg/cell) was significantly lower than that of PMC(E) (4.1 ± 0.3 pg/cell; p <0.001) and PMC(M) (3.7 ± 0.3; p <0.001). The maximal percent anti-IgE-induced histamine secretion in basophils (41.3 ± 3.6) was higher than in PMC(E) (17.5 ± 1.8) and in PMC(M) (13.8 ± 1.5). Similarly, the response to Staph A and Con A was higher in basophils (29 ± 3.9 and 31.6 ± 4.9, respectively) than in PMC(E) (3.5 ± 0.6 and 3.3 ± 0.8, respectively) and PMC(M) (5.1 ± 1.3 and 8.8 ± 2.2, respectively). A positive correlation between the maximal percent of histamine release induced by anti-IgE and Staph A was found in basophils (r(s) = 0.61; p <0.001), whereas there was a negative correlation between the reactivity of PMC(E) (r(s) = -0.67; p <0.001) and PMC(M) (r(s) = -0.40; p <0.001) to anti-IgE and their reactivity to Staph A. The maximal percent f-met-peptide-induced histamine release in basophils (34.9 ± 3.1) was higher than in PMC(E) (3.4 ± 0.7) and in PMC(M) (5.4 ± 1.4). The reactivity of PMC(M) to compound A23187 (43.9 ± 3.5) was lower than that of basophils (72.1 ± 2.7) and PMC(E) (71.4 ± 2). There was no correlation between the maximal percent histamine release induced by all the stimuli in basophils, PMC(E) and PMC(M) and the serum concentration of IgE. In a second study, the response to anti-IgE, f-met peptide, and compound A23187 of human basophils obtained from 17 normal donors and 19 asthmatics undergoing bronchoalveolar lavage was compared with that of mast-basophiloid cells (BMC) in the BAL. The histamine level in BAL of asthmatics (1,628 ± 632 pg/ml) was higher than that in control subjects (371 ± 65 pg/ml). The histamine content of BMC (2.5 ± 0.3 pg/cell) was higher than that of peripheral blood basophils (1.3 ± 0.1 pg/cell). The maximal percent anti-IgE-induced histamine release in BMC from asthmatics (21.9 ± 4.8) was higher than that in normal donors (7.1 ± 3.8). The maximal percent anti-IgE-, f-met-peptide-, and A23187-induced histamine release in basophils was significantly higher than in BMC of both control subjects and asthmatics.