Comparison of histamine release from human blood monocytes, lymphocytes, adenoidal and skin mast cells.

Monocytes and lymphocytes from human blood contain 0.043 +/- 0.007 and 0.053 +/- 0.014 pg histamine/cell, respectively, which can be released by a number of stimulants (A 23187, C5a, substance P, specific allergen). The release process takes 60-120 min to reach its end point, in contrast to tissue mast cells which complete the release within 1-3 min. Both, ketotifen (10(-7) - 10(-5) M) and disodium cromoglycate (10(-5) - 10(-3) M) inhibited histamine release dose dependently up to 40-45%, which might be particularly relevant during the later stages of acute allergic or pseudoallergic reactions.