Short-term increases in particulate air pollution are associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular events. Previously, we showed that intratracheally instilled diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) are prothrombotic. Here, we investigated the time course and the mechanisms. At 1, 6, and 24 hours after instillation of 50 microg DEPs per hamster, the mean size of in vivo-induced and quantified venous thrombosis was increased by 480%, 770%, and 460%, respectively. Platelets activation in blood was confirmed by a shortened closure time in the platelet function analyzer (PFA-100). In bronchoalveolar lavage, neutrophils and histamine levels were increased at all time points. In plasma, histamine was increased at 6 and 24 hours but not at 1 and 3 hours. Pretreatment with a histamine H1-receptor antagonist (diphenhydramine, 30 mg/kg intraperitoneally) abolished the DEP-induced neutrophil influx in bronchoalveolar lavage at all time points. However, diphenhydramine pretreatment did not affect DEP-induced thrombosis or platelet activation at 1 hour, whereas both were markedly reduced at 6 and 24 hours. In conclusion, pulmonary inflammation and peripheral thrombosis are correlated at 6 and 24 hours, but at 1 hour, the prothrombotic effects do not appear to result from pulmonary inflammation but possibly from the blood penetration of DEP-associated components or by DEP particles themselves.