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Further Characterization of a Factor From Endotoxin-Treated Serum which Releases Histamine and Heparin from Mast Cells

¹ Immunology Section, Laboratory of Microbiology and Immunology, National Institute of Dental Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20014

ABSTRACT

Upon incubation of hamster serum with bacterial endotoxin, a factor is produced which releases histamine and heparin from hamster mast cells and increases capillary permeability in guinea pig skin. The major histamine-releasing activity derived from hamster serum was characterized by gel filtration, found to have a molecular weight of approximately 60,000, and shown by electrophoresis to migrate with alpha-2- or beta-1-globulins. The ability to increase vascular permeability was not reversed by antihistamine. On the basis of these properties, the histamine-liberating factor generated by endotoxin in hamster serum differed significantly from known anaphylatoxins.