Characterization of the effects of phorbol esters on rat mast cell secretion

When applied to the skin, phorbol esters (PEs) elicit signs of acute inflammation, suggesting they may induce the release of mediators from mast cells. Therefore, we have studied the effects of PEs on purified rat peritoneal and thoracic mast cells both alone and in conjunction with the calcium ionophore, A23187, and various other secretagogues that interact with immunoglobulin E (e.g., anti-IgE and Con A) or other cell surface receptors, e.g., somatostatin and compd 48/80. PEs alone caused little or no release of histamine. However, the PE 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA, 10 ng/ml) tremendously potentiated release induced by the calcium ionophore A23187, reducing the EC50 for A23187 from 832 ng/ml to 56 ng/ml. In the presence of suboptimal A23187 (50 ng/ml), only active tumor promoting PEs elicited histamine release. The EC50 values of the various active PEs were: TPA 5 ng/ml; 4 beta-PDD, 83 ng/ml; and 4-O-methyl-TPA, 807 ng/ml, with maximal histamine release ranging from 54 to 80%. TPA synergistically enhanced stimulation of histamine release by anti-IgE and Con A over the entire concentration-response range. In contrast, this synergism was absent when cells were stimulated with somatostatin and compd 48/80. Phorbol esters may act by increasing the activity of a calcium/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (Ca/PL-PK). Mast cells do have Ca/PL-PK activity, and TPA in the presence of suboptimal A23187 induces protein phosphorylation comparable with other secretagogues. These results suggest that in the purified mast cell, PE-induced mediator release increases the sensitivity of release mechanisms for calcium, acts syngergistically with secretagogues interacting with IgE, and as suggested from structure-activity relationships, occurs via a specific mechanism of action perhaps involving the Ca/PL-PK.