Storage and turnover of histamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine and heparin in rat peritoneal mast cells in vivo.

The biogenic amines and heparin of rat peritoneal mast cells were labelled in vivo by the injection of amine precursors (3H-histidine and 3H-5-hydroxytryptophan) and 35S-sodium sulfate. Uptake of label was rapid, probably reflecting the synthesis of new granule material, but the elimination was slow. Half-lives of radiolabelled histamine (23 days) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT; 25 days) did not differ statistically from that of heparin (35 days). The slow elimination rates suggest that mast cell secretion is of little biological significance under normal conditions but are well compatible with the idea that mast cell function is related to secretion evoked by appropriate immunological stimuli. It further permitted an analysis of the amine storage by repeated injections of unlabelled 5-HT. A 15-fold increase in 5-HT content was obtained while the total amine content remained constant. The uptake of 5-HT was balanced by a reduction of histamine in a molar 1:1 ratio. A displacement of histamine by 5-HT was further indicated by increased elimination rate of radiolabelled histamine in response to 5-HT injections. The results support previous binding studies in vitro and indicate that histamine and 5-HT are bound to identical storage sites in the mast cell granules.