Dual effect of magnesium on compound 48/80-induced histamine secretion from rat peritoneal mast cells

The effect of magnesium on the secretory response to compound 48/80 from rat peritoneal mast cells was studied. The decrease in secretion caused by calcium deprivation was enlarged by magnesium. Glucose partially counteracted the decrease caused by calcium deprivation but not the one caused by magnesium. The addition of calcium to the cells simultaneously with compound 48/80 completely restored the secretory response if magnesium was present. The response was only partially restored in a magnesium- and glucose-free medium, whereas it was almost completely restored if glucose was present. Magnesium had a considerable effect on the restoration of the secretory response of EGTA-treated cells, whereas the effect of glucose was minimal indicating that an effect on the energy metabolism was of minor importance. The secretory response could also be restored by an exposure of the cells to calcium prior to stimulation with compound 48/80. This was, however, only observed if magnesium was present and glucose had no effect. The influence of magnesium on the restoration of the secretory response may partly occur by an effect on the energy metabolism, partly by an effect on the stimulus-secretion coupling. We propose that insufficient supply of Mg2+ to the G-protein during activation by compound 48/80 might cause a suboptimal signal transduction.