[Immunopharmacological actions of lumin (I): Anti-allergic actions of lumin].

We used lumin (4,4'-(3[2(1-ethyl-4-(1-H)quinolidene) ethylidene]) propenylene [bis(1-ethyl quinolinium iodide)]) as a photosensitive cyanin dye and studied its effects on various allergic reactions. We obtained the following results: Lumin slightly inhibited the production of IgE antibody, but showed no effect on the production of IgM and IgG antibodies. Lumin slightly inhibited homologous rat PCA at 48 hr. It also showed some inhibitory activity against histamine (His) release caused by in vitro antigen-antibody reaction. Lumin significantly inhibited the acceleration of the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction by cyclophosphamide (CY). The above results suggest that lumin shows anti-allergic activity through the mediation of immunopharmacological activity.