Allergology International (Jan 2011)

Cimetidine Enhances Antigen-Specific IgE and Th2 Cytokine Production

  • Ken Arae,
  • Keisuke Oboki,
  • Tatsukuni Ohno,
  • Masako Hirata,
  • Susumu Nakae,
  • Haruhiko Taguchi,
  • Hirohisa Saito,
  • Toshiharu Nakajima

DOI
https://doi.org/10.2332/allergolint.10-OA-0255
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 60, no. 3
pp. 339 – 344

Abstract

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Background: Treatment with anti-ulcer drugs has been shown to enhance IgE production against food antigens. However, little is known about the immunological effects of cimetidine, a histamine receptor type 2 (H2R) antagonist that is widely used as an anti-ulcer drug, in allergy. Therefore, the present study investigated the role of cimetidine in Th2 immune responses in mice. Methods: BALB/c mice were immunized intraperitoneally with ovalbumin (OVA) with and without cimetidine. The levels of cytokines in supernatants of spleen cells cultured in the presence of OVA for 4 days and the levels of total and OVA-specific IgG1, IgG2a and/or IgE in sera from these mice were determined by ELISA. Results: Administration of cimetidine to OVA-sensitized BALB/c mice promoted Th2 cytokine secretion by OVA-stimulated spleen cells in vitro and increased serum levels of OVA-specific IgE, IgG1 and IgG2a. Conclusions: These results indicate that cimetidine can enhance Th2 responses, suggesting that cimetidine may contribute to IgE production in allergies.

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