A water-soluble splenic factor, which produces a contractile response of the guinea-pig ileum, that is resistant to cholinoceptor and adrenoceptor antagonists is described. The ileal contractions elicited by the splenic extract showed some significant differences from those elicited by 5-hydroxytryptamine. The responses to splenic extract were not affected by the D-tryptamine-receptor antagonist, methysergide. The effect of the splenic extract on the guinea-pig ileum was similar to that of histamine. The H1-histamine antagonists, (+)-chloropheniramine and diphenhydramine, caused a parallel shift to the right of the splenic extract dose-response curve without suppression of the maximum response. A pA2 value of 8.97 +/- 0.03 for (+)-chloropheniramine and 7.55 +/- 0.1 for diphenhydramine was calculated. Significant histamine levels, as determined by fluorometric methods, could not be detected in the splenic extract. Likewise, the splenic factor did not release histamine from the intestinal preparation. These results support the view that: (i) the splenic factor acts through H1-histamine receptors; (ii) it is not histamine; (iii) it does not have any histamine releasing effect on the ileal smooth muscle.