Effects of adenosine on histamine release from human lung fragments

The actions of adenosine on histamine release of human lung fragments were investigated. Histamine release was stimulated either with the calcium ionophore A23187 or with concanavalin A. Adenosine and its analogue 5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine alone had no significant effect on basal release or on the release elicited by A 23187 or concanavalin A. However, in the presence of the adenosine receptor antagonist 8-[4-[[[[(2-aminoethyl)amino]-carbonyl]methyloxy]-phenyl]-1, 3-dipropylxanthine (XAC), which itself did not affect the release, adenosine increased the stimulated histamine release. On the other hand, in the presence of the nucleoside transport inhibitor S-(p-nitrobenzyl)-6-thioinosine (NBTI), adenosine caused a reduction in stimulated histamine release. NBTI itself caused a stimulation of release. Thus, a stimulatory effect of adenosine was seen in the presence of XAC, whereas an inhibitory effect was unmasked by NBTI. From these data it is concluded that adenosine exerts two opposing effects on histamine release in the human lung which neutralize each other: it inhibits release via a site antagonized by XAC, which presumably represents an A2 adenosine receptor, and it stimulates release via a mechanism that is blocked by NBTI, suggesting that adenosine needs to reach the interior of cells to exert this effect. The slight stimulatory effect of NBTI alone demonstrates that trapping intracellularly formed adenosine inside mast cells leads to sufficient concentrations of adenosine to stimulate histamine release. These findings suggest an important bimodal role of adenosine in regulating histamine release in the human lung.