Inhibition of basophil activation by histamine: a sensitive and reproducible model for the study of the biological activity of high dilutions.

BACKGROUND: At the beginning of this series of experiments we were looking for a model based on the use of purified commercially available compounds based on a fully described and accepted pharmacological model to study of the biological effect of high dilutions. Negative feedback induced by histamine, a major pro-inflammatory mediator, on basophils and mast cells activation via an H2 receptor me these criteria. The simplest way of measuring basophil activation in the early 1980's was the human basophil activation test (HBDT). OBJECTIVES: Our major goal was first to study the biological effect of centesimal histamine dilutions beyond the Avogadro limit, on the staining properties of human basophils activated by an allergen extract initially house dust mite, then an anti-IgE and N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP). Technical development over the 25 years of our work led us to replace the manual basophil counting by flow cytometry. The main advantages were automation and observer independence. Using this latter protocol our aim was to confirm the existence of this phenomenon and to check its specificity by testing, under the same conditions, inactive analogues of histamine and histamine antagonists. More recently, we developed an animal model (mouse basophils) to study the effect of histamine on histamine release. METHODS AND RESULTS: For the HBDT model basophils were obtained by sedimentation of human blood taken on EDTA and stained with Alcian blue. Results were expressed in percentage activation. Histamine dilutions tested were freshly prepared in the lab by successive centesimal dilutions and vortexing. Water controls were prepared in the same way. For the flow cytometric protocol basophils were first labeled by an anti-IgE FITC (basophil marker) and an anti-CD63 (basophil activation marker). Results were expressed in percentage of CD63 positive basophils. Another flow cytometric protocol has been developed more recently, based on basophil labeling by anti-IgE FITC (fluorescein isothiocyanate) and anti-CD203 PE (another human basophil activation marker). Results were expressed in mean fluorescence intensity of the CD203c positive population (MFI-CD203c) and an activation index calculated by an algorithm. For the mouse basophil model, histamine was measured spectrofluorimetrically. The main results obtained over 28 years of work was the demonstration of a reproducible inhibition of human basophil activation by high dilutions of histamine, the effect peaks in the range of 15-17CH. The effect was not significant when histamine was replaced by histidine (a histamine precursor) or cimetidine (histamine H2 receptor antagonist) was added to the incubation medium. These results were confirmed by flow cytometry. Using the latter technique, we also showed that 4-Methyl histamine (H2 agonist) induced a similar effect, in contrast to 1-Methyl histamine, an inactive histamine metabolite. Using the mouse model, we showed that histamine high dilutions, in the same range of dilutions, inhibited histamine release. CONCLUSIONS: Successively, using different models to study of human and murine basophil activation, we demonstrated that high dilutions of histamine, in the range of 15-17CH induce a reproducible biological effect. This phenomenon has been confirmed by a multi-center study using the HBDT model and by at least three independent laboratories by flow cytometry. The specificity of the observed effect was confirmed, versus the water controls at the same dilution level by the absence of biological activity of inactive compounds such as histidine and 1-Methyl histamine and by the reversibility of this effect in the presence of a histamine receptor H2 antagonist.

[Effect of cimetidine on neuromuscular blockade by succinylcholine and pancuronium].

The effect of cimetidine on neuromuscular blockade by succinylcholine and pancuronium was investigated in 54 adult patients scheduled for elective surgery. The neuromuscular blocking properties were estimated with single twitch height (T1) which was obtained by measuring the acceleration of adduction of the thumb in response to the ulnar nerve stimulation under N2O-fentanyl anesthesia. In cimetidine group, cimetidine 200 mg was administered orally on the night before surgery and 90 mins before anesthesia. Succinylcholine 1 mg.kg-1 (n = 14) or 1.5 mg.kg-1 (n = 20) was injected intravenously, and the onset time (from injection to 0% T1), the duration of maximal block (0% T1), and the recovery time from injection to 50% and 75% of control twitch height were evaluated. ED25 and ED50 of pancuronium were calculated from the dose response curve obtained by incremental administration of the drug (n = 20) whose total cumulative dose was 0.1 mg.kg-1. The recovery index of pancuronium was determined by measuring the 25%-75% recovery time. There was no significant difference between cimetidine pretreated patients and non-pretreated patients regarding these parameters of neuromuscular blockade with both succinylcholine and pancuronium. In conclusion, cimetidine has no influence on neuromuscular blockade of succinylcholine and pancuronium under N2O-fentanyl anesthesia.

A simple technique to study the effect of drugs on the negative inotropic response elicited by postganglionic cholinergic nerve stimulation in guinea pig atria.

A simple technique is described for evaluating the effects of drugs on postganglionic cholinergic nerve stimulation in guinea pig atrial tissue. Raising the voltage of stimulation tenfold (high voltage stimulation, HVS) in the left atrium produced a positive inotropic response. Propranolol abolished this effect but failed to reveal a negative inotropic response. However, in atria obtained from 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) pretreated animals, HVS produced a negative inotropic effect. The magnitude of the response was frequency-dependent and was potentiated by the anticholinesterase dyflos. Tetrodotoxin abolished the response but mecamylamine had no significant effect. Drugs which inhibit cardiac muscarinic receptors caused a parallel shift of the frequency-response relationship. In the right atrium, HVS caused a biphasic inotropic response. Propranolol or 6-OHDA pretreatment inhibited the positive inotropic effect, thereby enhancing the negative inotropic response. The effect did not show as great a dependence on the frequency of stimulation as in the left atrium and was less useful for comparing the effectiveness of muscarinic receptor antagonists.