Antigen-Induced Formation of a Lymphokine with a Possible Role as a Mediator of the Late Component of Dual Allergic Reaction

Abstract

In a penicillin-allergic patient who showed a strong dual skin reaction (immediate and late components) to an intradermal injection of the antigen, we investigated the possibility that the lymphokine, histamine-releasing factor (HRF), which has been shown to release histamine from human basophils and mast cells, might play a part in the elicitation of the late phase of the 'dual reaction'. In vitro stimulation of this patient's lymphocytes, but not those of a patient with a monophasic (immediate) reaction with the antigen, caused the production of a large amount of HRF, while a moderate lymphoproliferation occurred in both patients. The purified HRF released histamine from the patient's own leucocytes and also caused immediate wheal and flare reaction on intradermal injection.