Relationship between phosphatidylserine and cromolyn in histamine release.

The opposing actions of phosphatidylserine (PS) and cromolyn on histamine release were studied in rat peritoneal mast cells in vitro. Histamine-releasing drugs could be separated into 2 groups on the basis of whether they were potentiated by PS and inhibited by muM cromolyn (dextran, antigen (BSA), concanavalin A) or neither potentiated by PS nor inhibited by muM cromolyn (48/80, polymyxin, phospholipase C and ATP). Compound 48/80 and polymyxin chemically combined with PS, but this could be circumvented by preincubating the mast cells in PS for one hour, and then washing them free of PS in solution prior to addition of the drugs. These data define at least 2 pathways for induction of histamine release: (1) a PS-potentiated pathway inhibited by muM cromolyn, and (2) a PS-independent pathway unaffected by muM cromolyn. Dose-response curves of the muM cromolyn inhibition of PS-potentiated release revealed a parallel shift, suggesting that cromolyn may compete with PS.