Korean J Dermatol.  1982 Oct;20(5):641-646.

Effect of Cimetidine on Contact Sensitivity Reaction in Guinea Pigs

• Kim BH
• Kim TY
• Lee KW
• Houh W

Abstract

Cimetidine, an H-histamine receptor antagonist, has been advocated to have enhancing effect on delayed type hypersensitivity. However, some recent reports have caused controversial opinion regarding the effect of cimetidine on delayed type hypersensitivity assessed in vivo. In this study the effect of cimetidine at the various periods of contact sersitivity reaction (CSR) to DNCB was assessed in guinea pigs. Three groups of five guinea pigs were sensitized with DNCB in the nuchal region and challenged with DNCB in the back on 16th day after sensitization, Cimetidine, 300mg/3ml/kg, was injected intraperitoneally once a day for the duration of different periods. For the first group, cimetidine was injected during the first 10 days after sensitization to assess its effect on the preparative and recognition phase of the induction period of CSR, For the second group, cimetidine was injected from the 6th to the 16th day to evaluate the enhancing effect of cimetidine on CSR at the period when suppressor T-cells were considered to be active. For the third group, cimetidine was injected for the last 3 days before elicitation test to assess the effect of short term treatment of cimetidine on the established CSR to DNCB. For the elicitation, two different consentrations of DNCB were applied on the three sites along both sides of the spine in the back. Total means of the degree of CSR elicited by DNCB were significanly ircreased by cimetidine in the second and third groups (p<0.05). These enhancing effects of cimetidine on CSR were more prominent at the uppermost back than other sites, eliclted by 0.05% DNCB rather than 0.01% DNCB.

MeSH Terms

Animals
Cimetidine*
Dermatitis, Contact*
Dinitrochlorobenzene
Guinea Pigs*
Guinea*
Hypersensitivity
Spine
T-Lymphocytes
Cimetidine
Dinitrochlorobenzene