Calcium-Dependent Histamine Release With Degranulation From Isolated Rat Mast Cells by Adenosine 5’;-Triphosphate

It has generally been recognized that histamine release from mast cells induced by antigen-antibody reaction, as well as by certain basic compounds, is dependent upon the cellular energy generating processes since these reactions are inhibited by anoxic conditions and by metabolic inhibitors which uncouples oxidative phosphorylation or block respiratory enzymes (1-7). A preliminary study was attempted in order to see whether adenosine 5'-triphosphatase (ATPase) is really activated in association with the release of histamine. However, it was unexpectedly found, at the beginning of such a work, that adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) itself caused a marked histamine release and this was accompanied with conspicuous morphological changes characterized by the degranula tion of mast cells when the medium contained calcium ions.