Relevance of histamine and tryptase concentrations in nasal secretions after nasal challenges with phosphate buffered saline and allergen

P Clement,D Wang,M.-P Derde,J Smitz

doi:10.1155/s0962935195000160

Abstract

In this prospective study, a quantitative determination of histamine and tryptase in nasal secretions after nasal phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and allergen challenge was performed in 18 atopic patients who were compared with ten non-allergic healthy volunteers. The aim of the study was to determine the normal and pathological concentrations of these important mediators in nasal secretions. The second objective was to test the relevance of these two mast cell secreted mediators after nasal challenge. Results showed that the concentrations of tryptase in almost all samples were under the minimal detection limit (< 0.5 μU/g) and only a sigrtificant increase of tryptase (median, 28 μU/g) occurred immediately after nasal allergen challenge in the patient group. Histamine concentration significantly increased after every nasal PBS challenge (median, 69 ng/g after first PBS challenge and 165 ng/g after second PBS challenge) in the control group, as well as in the patient group after both PBS (median, 69 ng/g) and allergen (median, 214 ng/g) challenge. On the other hand, a rapid onset of sneezing and increase in nasal airway resistance was experienced only in the patient group after nasal allergen challenge, but did not occur after PBS challenge even though the histamine concentrations significantly increased in both groups. This study suggests that tryptase is a more preferable marker than histamine in quantitative monitoring of mast cell activation especially during the early phase nasal allergic reaction.

Highlights

It has been a well-established fact for many years that histamine and tryptase are both mast cell products
No significant change occurred in the number of sneezes and in nasal airway resistance before and after nasal PBS challenges in the control group and in the patient group
There was no significant difference in the median values for histamine and tryptase between men and women, or between the first two consecutive sampies

Summary

Introduction

It has been a well-established fact for many years that histamine and tryptase are both mast cell products. Increases of these two components in body fluids have been regarded as markers for mast cell activation in allergic reactions. While the published data give the normal and pathological concentrations of histamine in body fluids, the quantification of histamine in nasal secretions, has not yet been well established. The most common technique in use until now has been nasal lavage The drawback of this technique, is that the dilutional effect of nasal secretions by lavage fluid is unknown. The important question regarding the exact normal and pathological concentrations of histamine in nasal secretions still remains unanswered

Methods

Results

Conclusion