Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Slow-reacting substances (leukotrienes) contract human airway and pulmonary vascular smooth muscle in vitro

Abstract

During a type I allergic reaction histamine, slow-reacting substance of anaphylaxis (SRS-A) and other mediator substances are elaborated from specific tissue sites1. In allergic asthma these sites are in the lung and the mediator substances cause airway obstruction by contracting smooth muscle and altering mucociliary function2–4. Unlike histamine, slow-reacting substances (SRSs) have been assessed very little for their roles in obstructive airways disease. This has been partly due to the fact that their chemical nature was unknown until recently and thus pure samples were not available for pharmacological studies. However, SRSs isolated from both immunological and non-immunological reactions have been identified as a combination of two related lipid substances—leukotriene C4 (LTC) and leukotriene D4 (LTD)5,6; thus it is now possible to use pure SRSs (leukotrienes) in pharmacological studies of airway smooth muscle. LTC and LTD have been shown to contract guinea pig tracheal and lung parenchymal strips5 but there is no evidence that these substances produce similar effects on human lung tissue. To clarify this, in vitro pharmacological studies were done to determine the actions of LTC and LTD on smooth muscle strips of human bronchus, pulmonary vein and artery, and lung parenchymal tissue containing smooth muscle components and pleura. As indicated in a preliminary report7, all four types of tissues contracted in a dose-dependent fashion to the leukotrienes, although these substances only function as partial agonists.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Piper, P. J. Pharmac. Ther. B3, 75–98 (1977).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Kaliner, M., Orange, R. P. & Austen, K. F. J. exp. Med. 136, 556–567 (1972).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Mezey, R. J., Cohn, M. A., Fernandez, R. J., Januszkiewicz, A. J. & Wanner, A. Am. Rev. resp. Dis. 118, 677–684 (1978).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Hogg, J. C., Pare, P. D., Boucher, R. C. & Michoud, M.-C. Can. med. Assoc. J. 121, 409–414 (1979).

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Lewis, R. A. et al. Proc. natn. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 77, 3710–3714 (1980).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Bach, M. K., Brashler, J. R., Johnson, H. G. & McNee, M. L. Proc. Symp. SRS-A and Leukotrienes (Research Studies Press, London, in the press).

  7. Hanna, C. J., Schellenberg, R. R., Pare, P. D. & Bach, M. K. Clin. Res. 28, 702 (1980).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Bach, M. K. & Brashler, J. R. J. Immun. 120, 998–1005 (1978).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Bach, M. K., Brashler, J. R., Hammarstrom, S. & Samuelsson, B. Biochem. biophys. Res. Commun. 93, 1121–1126 (1980).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Bach, M. K., Brashler, J. R., Hammarstrom, S. & Samuelsson, B. J. Immun. 125, 115–117 (1980).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Van Rossum, J. M. Archs int. Pharmacodyn. 143, 299–330 (1963).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Collier, H. O. J. & Sweatman, W. J. F. Nature 219, 864–865 (1968).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Brocklehurst, W. E. Adv. Drug. Res. 5, 109–113 (1970).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Mathe, A. A. & Strandberg, K. Acta physiol. scand. 82, 460–465 (1971).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Dahlen, S.-E., Hedqvist, P., Hammarstrom, S. & Samuelsson, B. Nature 288, 484 (1980).

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hanna, C., Bach, M., Pare, P. et al. Slow-reacting substances (leukotrienes) contract human airway and pulmonary vascular smooth muscle in vitro. Nature 290, 343–344 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/290343a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/290343a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing