Aminophylline attenuates the edemogenic actions of histamine in the canine forelimb.

Xanthines have been employed clinically to treat asthma and related pulmonary conditions because of their bronchodilator properties. In addition, xanthines have been reported to block and/or attenuate the increase in microvascular permeability to macromolecules produced by some putative inflammatory mediators. In order to more completely assess the anti-inflammatory capabilities of xanthines, we have infused aminophylline intra-arterially in the canine forelimb prior to and during a local intra-arterial infusion of histamine. Forelimb prenodal lymph flow, protein concentration and protein transport were used as indices of transvascular fluid and protein flux. Infusion of histamine (4 micrograms/min) significantly decreased forelimb arterial pressures and increased lymph flow, protein concentration and protein transport. Aminophylline infusion (10 mg/min) decreased forelimb arterial pressures but did not affect lymph parameters. Histamine infusion during infusion of aminophylline increased lymph parameters but the increases were markedly less than with histamine infusion alone. Infusion of aminophylline (20 mg/min) decreased forelimb arterial pressures and systemic pressure. Subsequent histamine infusion resulted in small but significant increases in lymph parameters. These data indicate that aminophylline infusion can blunt the ability of subsequently administered histamine to increase microvascular permeability as evidenced by the attenuation of the increases in lymph flow, protein concentration and protein transport.