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. 2000 Sep;84(9):1004–1007. doi: 10.1136/bjo.84.9.1004

Topical ophthalmic β blockers may cause release of histamine through cytotoxic effects on inflammatory cells

L M van Beek 1, M Mulder 1, N J van Haeringen 1, A Kijlstra 1
PMCID: PMC1723656  PMID: 10966954

Abstract

AIM—To evaluate the effects of β blockers used in ophthalmology on the release of histamine from mixed cell preparations containing human leucocytes and basophils.
METHODS—A mixed leucocyte and basophil preparation was obtained from venous blood of healthy non-atopic volunteers. Cell preparations were then incubated with betaxolol, metipranolol, timolol, or carteolol. After incubation for 1 hour the histamine content of the supernatant was analysed by automated fluorometric analysis. Cell viability was tested by measuring lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) concentrations.
RESULTS—Betaxolol and metipranolol in concentrations between 10-2 M and 10-3 M liberated histamine from human blood cells in a dose dependent manner. Carteolol and timolol had no effect on histamine at these concentrations. At the same concentrations LDH was also detected in the supernatants of cell suspensions incubated with metipranolol or betaxolol.
CONCLUSIONS—Betaxolol and metipranolol induce substantial histamine release from human leucocytes, probably as a result of their cytotoxic effect.



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Figure 1  .

Figure 1  

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Histamine release from human leucocyte suspensions after incubation for 1 hour at 37°C with various β blockers. Release is expressed as mean percentage with standard deviation of total histamine (n = 14). p<0.001 for difference between betaxolol and timolol and between metipranolol and timolol at 10-2 M (Student's t test).

Figure 2  .

Figure 2  

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Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) expressed as percentage of total LDH in supernatant of leucocyte suspensions after incubation for 1 hour at 37°C with various β blockers. Mean values with standard deviations are shown (n = 14). p<0.001 for difference between betaxolol and timolol and between metipranolol and timolol at 10-2 M (Student's t test).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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