Role of calcium in the histamine release induced by D-galactosamine from rat mast cells

Summary Rat peritoneal mast cells were isolated and purified by differential centrifugation in Ficoll. Cells pooled from three to four rats were suspended at approximately 10⁶ cells/ml in a buffered salt solution and incubated for 1 h at 37°C in 300 l volumes in the absence or presence (9×10^–4 M) of calcium chloride. Addition of D-galactosamine hydrochloride (DGM; 2.8×10^–4 M) caused (in addition to basal release) a mean ±SEM percent histamine release of 15.7±5.2 in the presence of Ca⁺⁺ and 19±4.9 in the absence of Ca⁺⁺ (p>0.05). It is suggested that D-galactosamine does not require extracellular Ca⁺⁺ for the release of histamine from the rat mast cell.A preliminary analysis of these results was presented at the International Symposium on calcium entry blockers and tissue protection, Rome, 15–16 March 1984.