The release of four mediators of immediate hypersensitivity from human leukemic basophils

The availability of a patient with basophilic leukemia manifesting 75 to 90% mature basophils permitted the use of a cell concentration sufficient to generate and release mediators upon interaction with a calcium ionophore in quantities adequate for their physiocochemical characterization. The mediators were defined in terms of their physicochemical characteristics: slow reacting substance of anaphylaxis (SRS-A) by purification through silicic acid chromatography and inactivation by arylsulfatase; eosinophil chemotactic factor of anaphylaxis (ECF-A) by its gel filtration through Sephadex G-25 and inactivation by subtilisin and not trypsin; and platelet-activating factor (PAF) by its inherent binding to albumin. Both ECF-A and histamine were present in their preformed state, and for histamine it was possible to establish that the concentration per cell was comparable to that of normal human basophils. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP suppressed release of histamine and SRS-A, indicating that their availability was under a control similar to that observed with normal cells subjected to immunologic activation. The demonstration that a suspension of leukemic human basophils contained the preformed mediators, histamine and ECF-A, and generated SRS-A and PAF for release along with histamine and ECF-A, after activation with a calcium ionophore, establishes that a single cell type can serve as a source of the four recognized mediators of immediate-type hypersensitivity.