Histamine and inositol phosphate accumulation in endothelium: cAMP and a G protein.

Histamine increases microvascular permeability through a calcium-dependent process, and histamine occupancy of the H1-receptor increases calcium in cultured endothelial cells. Agents that increase adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) in endothelial cells prevent the in vivo increase in microvascular permeability that follows histamine exposure. In the current experiments, histamine occupancy of the H1-receptor increased the flux of albumin across monolayers of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). This was prevented by pretreating the cells with theophylline, forskolin, and 8-bromo-cAMP (BrcAMP), which also decreased the flux of albumin across control monolayers. Exposing the cells to histamine increased inositol phosphate accumulation in the cells, and this was prevented by the H1-antagonist pyrilamine but not by theophylline, forskolin, and BrcAMP. Exposing the cells to histamine increased intracellular calcium measured with fura-2. The increase in cell calcium was prevented by pyrilamine but not by pretreatment with theophylline, forskolin, and BrcAMP. When endogenous cell GTP was depleted by permeabilizing the membranes of the endothelial cells with Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin, histamine-stimulated inositol phosphate accumulation was enhanced with addition of GTP but not with addition of GDP to the buffer. Addition of GTP alone to the buffer did not increase inositol phosphate accumulation in alpha-toxin-treated cells. Histamine stimulates inositol phosphate accumulation in HUVEC via a G protein. Inhibition of the edemagenic effects of histamine by cAMP does not occur by interrupting this signal transduction pathway between the binding of histamine to its receptor and the increase in intracellular calcium.