Inhibition by dexamethasone of histamine production in allergic inflammation in rats. In an allergic inflammation model of air pouch type in rats, histamine level in the pouch fluid and histidine decarboxylase activity of pouch wall tissues in the postanaphylaxis phase were increased. Although treatment with dexamethasone failed to inhibit histamine release from mast cells in the anaphylaxis phase, histamine production in the postanaphylaxis phase was inhibited dose dependently. Histamine production-increasing activity in the pouch fluid collected 8 h after the Ag challenge, which was estimated by an activity to stimulate histamine production by bone marrow cells, was decreased by the administration of dexamethasone at the time of the Ag challenge. The addition of steroidal antiinflammatory drugs, dexamethasone, prednisolone, or hydrocortisone, into the incubation medium inhibited the pouch fluid-induced histamine production by bone marrow cells. Hydrocortisone mesylate antagonized the inhibitory effect of dexamethasone on histamine production by bone marrow cells. However, hydrocortisone mesylate failed to recover the decrease in histamine production-increasing activity of the pouch fluid collected from dexamethasone-treated rats. In addition, the dialyzed sample of pouch fluid obtained from dexamethasone-treated nonsensitized rats did not reduce the stimulated histamine production by the pouch fluid sample obtained from the sensitized rats. However, increase in histamine production of bone marrow cells stimulated by the pouch fluid was not inhibited by cyclosporin A that inhibited histamine production induced by Con A. This observation indicates that the pouch fluid has no effect to induce production of the histamine production-increasing factor by bone marrow cells. Consequently, it is suggested that dexamethasone inhibits not only the production of histamine production-increasing factor but also the response of histamine-producing cells to this factor. 