Changes in Guinea-Pig Liver Heparin and Histamine during Anaphylaxis

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Abstract
The heparin content of the guinea-pig liver and its change in anaphylactic shock 5 min after injection of antigen under mepyramine cover was estimated by four methods. In sensitized nonchallenged animals, the following values were obtained: 12.32 ± 2.04 U/g by metachromasia; 9.22 ± 0.14 U/g by ribonuclease inhibition; 4.62 ± 0.24 U/g by histaminase release in guinea pigs; 1.64 ± 0.45 U/g by anticoagulant action. Similar values were given by livers of normal animals injected with either NaCl solution or ovalbumin. After challenging the sensitized animals with 10 mg ovalbumin/kg, a significant decrease of the heparin values by 25–50% occurred. The results were analyzed on the basis of our earlier observation that 50 U bovine heparin/kg produces in normal guinea pigs about the same histaminase release from the liver into the blood as does 10 mg ovalbumin/kg in sensitized animals, whereas 500 U heparin/kg is necessary to exhaust the histaminase store in the liver. It follows that the loss of heparin from the liver in shock is high enough to account for the anaphylactic histaminase release. In contrast to heparin, the histamine content of the liver (perfused with aminoguanidine after removal from the body) was significantly increased in shock 5 min after antigen by a factor of 2 or more. After depletion of the liver histaminase by pretreatment of the animals with heparin, the increase of the histamine content was still higher.

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