Histamine evokes greater increases in phosphatidylinositol metabolism and catecholamine secretion in epinephrine-containing than in norepinephrine-containing chromaffin cells.

Chromaffin cells have H1 histamine receptors. Histamine, acting at these receptors, increases the metabolism of inositol-containing phospholipids and stimulates catecholamine secretion from chromaffin cells. We have investigated the effects of histamine and other agents on the accumulation of inositol monophosphate (InsP1) and catecholamine secretion in purified cultures of norepinephrine-containing and epinephrine-containing bovine chromaffin cells. Histamine-stimulated InsP1 accumulation in epinephrine cells was three times greater than that in norepinephrine cells. In contrast, bradykinin caused roughly equivalent increases in InsP1 accumulation in the two chromaffin cell subtypes. Histamine-stimulated catecholamine secretion was also greater in epinephrine cells than in norepinephrine cells, whereas high K+, bradykinin, phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate, and angiotensin II all caused greater secretion from norepinephrine cells than from epinephrine cells. The density of H1 receptors in epinephrine cells was approximately three times greater than that in norepinephrine cells. The greater density of H1 receptors on epinephrine cells may account for the greater effects of histamine on InsP1 accumulation and catecholamine secretion in these cells.