Inhibitory action of azelastine hydrochloride on the induction of mast cells from normal mouse splenocytes

Abstract

The influence of azelastine (AZ) on murine mast cell induction was examined by in vitro cell culture techniques. Splenocytes from normal BALB/c mice suspended in RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with interleukin-3 were cultured in the presence or absence of AZ. The number of mast cells increased gradually with culture time and reached a peak on the 16th day when cells were cultured without AZ. The addition of 1.0 μg/mL AZ to the culture medium resulted in complete suppression of mast cell growth, but a lower concentration of AZ (0.5 μg/mL) had no demonstrable effects on the growth of mast cells. Azelastine induced apoptotic cell death in mast cells when cells were cultured in the presence of 1.0 μg/mL AZ for more than 24 h. However, this apoptosis-inducing activity of AZ was not observed in either eosinophils or neutrophils that were obtained from mouse peritoneal cavity.

Keywords

• apoptosis
• azelastine
• in vitro mast cell growth
• Correspondence: Dr K Asano
• Department of Medical Biology
• School of Medicine
• Showa University
• 1-5-8 Hatanodai
• Shinagawa-ku
• Tokyo 142
• Japan