Homologous passive cutaneous anaphylaxis (PCA) in mice and heterologous PCA induced in rats with mouse IgE.

A study was made of the effect of anit-histamine, antiserotonin and of different anti-anaphylactic drugs on PCA reactions induced in mice with IgG1 or IgE. Further, using the ability of mouse IgE to sensitize rat mast cells, a comparative study was also made of PCA reactions induced in mice and rats with mouse IgE. Antihistamines produced a partial inhibition of PCA reactions induced in mice with mouse IgG1 or IgE and in rats with mouse IgE whereas antiserotonin inhibited PCA reactions induced in rats with mouse IgE, but had no effect on PCA reactions induced in mice with mouse IgG1 or IgE. The simultaneous use of antihistamine and antiserotonin resulted in a total inhibition of PCA reactions induced in mice with IgG1 and in a marked but not total inhibition of PCA reaction due to IgE; PCA reactions induced in rats with mouse IgE were totally inhibited. Compounds known to change the intracellular level of cyclic AMP were found to have little or no effect on PCA reactions induced in mice with either IgG1 or IgE in spite of producing a complete marked inhibition of PCA reactions induced with mouse IgE in rats. Diethylcarbamazine or disodium cromoglycate were also very effective inhibitors of rat PCA reactions induced with mouse IgE although having no effect on PCA reaction induced in mice with this same antibody or with IgG1. Thus, in spite of sharing common mediators released from the same type of target cell sensitized with the same type of antibody, PCA reactions induced in mice and rats with mouse IgE reacted very differently to the pharmacological effect of most of the drugs tested. This fact seems to indicate that the physiological mechanism operating in mouse mast cells are different from those operating in rat mast cells.