Lipid mediators from pollen act as chemoattractants and activators of polymorphonuclear granulocytes.

Background: Under natural exposure conditions, pollen grains function as allergen carriers that release allergens from internal binding sites on contact with the aqueous phase of mucosa membranes. In addition, we recently demonstrated that pollen are a rich source of eicosanoid-like mediators, which are rapidly released on contact with the aqueous phase.

Objective: The current study was designed to characterize the biochemical nature of pollen-derived lipid mediators in more detail and to delineate their biologic activity on polymorphonuclear granulocytes (PMNs).