Histamine contents of blood plasma and cells in patients with myelogenous leukemia

Twenty-three pairs of fluorometric measurements of histamine were made on blood plasma and cells from patients with acute (10 cases) and chronic myelogenous leukemia (13 cases). The mean histamine level of plasma of patients (17.6 ± 10.5 μ/L) exceeded that of normal subjects (7.6 ± 4.7 μg/L). None of the patients complained of any symptoms referable to the agent. The ratio of mean histamine level of cells from a liter of blood to that of a liter of plasma was higher in patients with chronic (2410 to 19.6) and acute leukemia (213 to 15.0) than in normal subjects (51.2 to 7.6). A significant correlation between histamine levels of cells (Y) and counts of basophils (X) was ascertained. It was expressed in a regression curve: Y = 33.1 X0.486. This suggested that the higher the basophil count, the lower histamine per cell. On blood histamine in leukemia with increased basophil count, the following were discussed: why increased plasma histamine did not yield symptoms, and how the agent is dealt with when released from cells in vivo.