Macrophages play a pivotal role in innate immune responses to pathogens via toll-like receptors. We previously demonstrated that aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr) in combination with signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (Stat1) negatively regulates pro-inflammatory cytokine production by inhibiting nuclear factor-κB activation in macrophages after LPS stimulation. Here, we show that...

Serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)] is released from enterochromaffin cells in the mucosa of the small intestine. We tested a hypothesis that elevation of 5-HT in the environment of enteric mast cells might degranulate the mast cells and release mediators that become paracrine signals to the enteric nervous system, spinal afferents, and secretory glands. Western blotting, immunofluorescence,...

Drugs with antihistamine action are the most commonly prescribed medication in daily dermatologic practice, both to adults and children. This article addresses new concepts of the role of histamine receptors (H1 receptors) and discusses the anti-inflammatory effects of these drugs. Second generation antihistamines differs from first generation because of their high specificity and affinity for ...

Histaminergic neurons of the tuberomammillary nucleus (TM) project monosynaptically to the supraoptic nucleus (SON). This projection remains intact in our hypothalamic slices and permits investigation of both brief synaptic responses and the effects of repetitively activating this pathway. SON oxytocin (OX) neurons respond to single TM stimuli with fast IPSPs, whose kinetics resemble those of G...

The human histamine H(4)-receptor (hH(4)R) possesses high constitutive activity and, like the human H(1)-receptor (hH(1)R), is involved in the pathogenesis of type-I allergic reactions. The study aims were to explore the value of dual H(1)/H(4)R antagonists as antiallergy drugs and to address the question of whether H(1)R ligands bind to hH(4)R. In an acute murine asthma model, the H(1)R antago...

Systemic administration to rats of a combination of mepyramine, a histamine H1-, and burimamide, a histamine H2-receptor antagonist, over a period which included the time of implantation (late Day 5 to early Night 5), increased the number of blastocysts recovered from the uterus and reduced the number and intensity of Pontamine Sky Blue (PSB) sites obtained at autopsy on Night 5. Histological e...

Background Allergic rhinitis is well known to be accompanied by inflammatory responses in the nasal wall and lumen including predominant infiltration of eosinophils, T cells and mast cells. With the discovery of IgE as the link between allergen exposure and mediator release, mast cells established their role as effector cells in the development and maintenance of allergic diseases. However, the...

The histamine H3 receptor has been identified in the rat brain as a presynaptic autoreceptor inhibiting histamine synthesis and release. Following its recent cloning, more than fifteen years later, the existence of isoforms, species pharmacological differences and the high constitutive activity of the receptor were established. All these molecular findings have to be taken into account for the ...

Histamine, acting centrally as a neurotransmitter, evokes a reversal of haemorrhagic shock in rats due to the activation of the sympathetic and the renin-angiotensin systems as well as the release of arginine vasopressin and proopiomelanocortin-derived peptides. In the present study, we demonstrate influences of cholinergic receptor antagonists on the central histamine-induced resuscitating act...

The medical mechanism against type I allergies is to block the release or production of chemical mediators from mast cells or to block the H(1)-receptor signaling. We previously reported that the anti-allergic action of the dry powder from Bidens pilosa L. var. radiata SCHERFF treated with the enzyme cellulosine (eMMBP) was dependent on the inhibition of histamine release from mast cells. Here,...