Histamine release from platelets for assay of byssinogenic substances in cotton mill dust and related materials.

Abstract

Previous reports suggest that byssinosis, an asthma-like condition among textile workers, may be mediated in part by histamine liberated following inhalation of dust. A simple, sensitive, and reliable procedure using pig platelets which contain the unusually high concentration of 0-8-1 6 ug histamine/109 cells has been devised for the assay of histamine-releasing factors in cotton mill dust and related materials, and has yielded results generally in accordance with earlier assays using chopped lung tissue. As little as 50-100 ,ug of total extractable substances from cotton mill dust can be measured. The activity of the extract is associated with the non-dialysable high molecular weight portion. However, conditions of acid hydrolysis do not destroy the activity. Extracts of leaves from different varieties of plant are highly potent, which suggests that the factors responsible for byssinosis are widely distributed plant components, present in textile fibre plants and converted to a respirable form by handling processes. Ellagic acid and sodium metasilicate release histamine from pig platelets, and represent new classes of compounds with possible roles in the aetiology of byssinosis.Byssinosis affects as many as a quarter of the cotton workers in the United States, and is of increasing concern to the industry (Harris et al., 1972;Bouhuys, 1974). The primary symptoms are respiratory difficulty, tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, cough, and decreased forced expiratory ventilation. The effects are most severe after absence from work (on Monday or after holidays) but gradually diminish as the work week progresses. The incidence and harshness of the attacks are related to the atmospheric concentration of respirable dust particles from the cotton materials. The disease eventually can develop into a chronic form with accompanying disablement (Harris et al., 1972;Bouhuys, 1974).Identification of the factor(s) in cotton mill dust which may be responsible for byssinosis could help to prevent or to alleviate this ailment. The nature of the symptoms and results of experimental studies suggest that induction of histamine release by cotton Requests for reprints to

Biochemical profile of gin women laborers in Tirupur

“…This increased level of blood histamine in ginning factory women laborers might be due to the histamine liberating factor of cotton extracts namely endotoxins of gram negative bacteria. [ 25 ] It may also be due to the release of leucocytes mainly basophils contain histamine granules and respond to agents that cause release of histamine. [ 25 ] This was also supported by the work of Ellisade et al .,[ 26 ] and Panchal et al .,[ 27 ] who suggested that mast cell degranulation with its release of histamine had been strongly implicated in the acute symptoms in cotton textile workers.…”

Induction of Histamine Release in Vitro from Rat Peritoneal Mast Cells by Extracts of Grain Dust

“…Histamine release by other types of vegetable products has been demonstrated in vitro by several authors, using lung tissue from various species and platelets, e.g., cotton dust (15)(16)(17)(18), hemp dust (18), western red cedar dust (27), but so far the active agent in these dusts has not been identified. The investigations reported here indicated that the grain dust extract tested induced histamine release from mast cells via a cytotoxic mechanism.…”

“…The former possibility was investigated by Nicholls, who found that the concentration of histamine found in cereal grain dust was very low and hence unlikely to be capable of causing respiratory distress (14). Constituents capable of releasing histamine have been found in cotton dust by several investigators (15)(16)(17)(18), and the purpose of the present study was to examine the possibility that grain dust might exert some ofits adverse effects via a similar mechanism. We chose an in vitro system using rat peritoneal mast cells, since this was a well established model for the study of histamine release from mast cells.…”

Differential Diagnosis of Byssinosis by Blood Histamine and Pulmonary Function Test: A Review and an Appraisal

“…The disease is manifested by chest tightness, shortness of breath, phlegum, and cough (Parikh, Venkatakrishna-Bhatt, and Panchal 1985;Parikh et al 1986). The resultant bronchoconstriction is probably a result of release of biogenic amines (Nowier, Abdul-Kadar, and Omran 1984;Ainsworth, Newman, and Harley 1979;Oehling, dela-Reguera, and Vines-Rueda 1972;Bouhuys, Lindell, and Linding 1960), chemotaxins (Ainsworth and Newman 1972), and endotoxins (Cavagna, Foa, and Vigliani 1969).…”