Prostanoids have been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma because of their potential role in the modulation of airway tone. In the present study, the bronchoconstrictors prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) and thromboxane (TX), and those prostanoids able to protect against bronchoconstriction, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and the stable metabolite of prostacyclin, 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha (6-keto-PGF1 alpha), were measured in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) before and 5 min after endobronchial allergen challenge in four subject groups: nonatopic nonasthmatics (n = 6), nonatopic asthmatics (n = 3), atopic nonasthmatics (n = 9), and atopic asthmatics (n = 8). There were no significant differences in prechallenge prostanoid levels between the four groups, with the potentially bronchoprotective mediators present in highest concentration. Allergen challenge in atopic asthmatics resulted in significant increases (p less than 0.05) in PGD2 (97.4 +/- 19.4 to 1,053.2 +/- 338.6 pg/ml, mean +/- SEM) and TX (45.5 +/- 7.5 to 150.7 +/- 37.8 pg/ml) over prechallenge levels and control groups. Similarly, histamine increased in the atopic asthmatics after challenge (0.36 +/- 0.22 to 6.84 +/- 1.86 ng/ml; p less than 0.05). Atopic nonasthmatics had slight increases in PGD2 (96.9 +/- 25.4 to 219.7 +/- 47.5 pg/ml; p greater than 0.1) after challenge, whereas PGD2 and TX did not change in nonatopic subjects. A significant positive correlation was found between histamine, PGD2, and TX levels after challenge among all groups (p less than 0.001). There were no significant changes among the four groups after allergen challenge in 6-keto-PGF1 alpha or PGE2.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)