Mechanisms of vancomycin-induced histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells

The mechanisms of vancomycin (VCM)-induced histamine release were studied with rat peritoneal mast cells. VCM (>1×10^–3 M) released histamine from the isolated mast cells in a dose-dependent and noncytotoxic manner. In the absence of extracellular Ca²⁺, the histamine release was reduced markedly. When the intracellular Ca²⁺ was depleted, it was further decreased. The Fura-2-loaded single mast cells showed a biphasic increase in the intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration (Ca²⁺]_i) by VCM: the first transient and the second sustained components. In the absence of extracellular Ca²⁺, the transient component was unchanged, while the sustained component was eliminated completely. The IP₃ content in the mast cells increased within 10 s after the application of VCM. These results suggest that VCM releases histamine from rat peritoneal mast cells via an IP₃ production and increase in Ca²⁺]_i.