The Effect of Glucose on Histamine Release from Isolated Rat Peritoneal Mast Cells Induced by Adenosine‐5‘‐Triphosphate

Histamine release from isolated rat peritoneal mast cells induced by ATP in an aerobic milieu increased in the presence of glucose. Irrespectively whether the cells were exposed to glucose prior to ATP or the two agents were added together to cells, optimal histamine release was noted with 0.3–0.5 mM of glucose and amounted to 1.5–2 times that observed in the absence of glucose. In contrast, under similar conditions compound 48/80‐induced histamine release was not affected by glucose. The velocity of ATP‐induced histamine release and the final amount of histamine released within 30 min of incubation increased in the presence of glucose. A lag period of about 1 min was noted before histamine release occurred when initiated by ATP (3.9 times 10‐5M). This lag period was not changed by glucose. Iodoacetate inhibited histamine release induced by ATP as well as by compound 48/80. The glucose‐activated part of ATP‐induced histamine release seemed especially sensitive to iodoacetate. The results suggest that glucose through its metabolism in the cells exerts an enhancing effect on ATP‐induced histamine release.