Mechanism of histamine release from isolated mast cell granules by calcium with phosphatidyl serine.

Histamine is released from isolated mast cell granules with intact membranes by calcium (10 mM) in presence of phosphatidyl serine (25-50 micrograms/ml). The release occurs both in Krebs-Ringer solution and in sucrose solution without monovalent cations, but the release in Krebs-Ringer solution is somewhat higher. The histamine release is associated with increased calcium uptake. But calcium is taken up much faster, within 5 sec, while it takes several minutes before histamine release is completed. The observations suggest a rapid uptake of calcium to the granule membrane, from which it may be more slowly released to the matrix, displacing histamine from its binding sites. Phosphatidyl serine with calcium could also conceivably change the membrane permeability causing increased influx of sodium ions, thus accounting for the mild enhancement of the release in Krebs-Ringer solution.