Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022:59:261-288.
doi: 10.1007/7854_2021_235.

Histamine in the Crosstalk Between Innate Immune Cells and Neurons: Relevance for Brain Homeostasis and Disease

Liliana Bernardino  1
Affiliations
Review

Histamine in the Crosstalk Between Innate Immune Cells and Neurons: Relevance for Brain Homeostasis and Disease

Liliana Bernardino. Curr Top Behav Neurosci. 2022.

Abstract

Histamine is a biogenic amine playing a central role in allergy and peripheral inflammatory reactions and acts as a neurotransmitter and neuromodulator in the brain. In the adult, histamine is produced mainly by mast cells and hypothalamic neurons, which project their axons throughout the brain. Thus, histamine exerts a range of functions, including wakefulness control, learning and memory, neurogenesis, and regulation of glial activity. Histamine is also known to modulate innate immune responses induced by brain-resident microglia cells and peripheral circulating monocytes, and monocyte-derived cells (macrophages and dendritic cells). In physiological conditions, histamine per se causes mainly a pro-inflammatory phenotype while counteracting lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation both in microglia, monocytes, and monocyte-derived cells. In turn, the activation of the innate immune system can profoundly affect neuronal survival and function, which plays a critical role in the onset and development of brain disorders. Therefore, the dual role of histamine/antihistamines in microglia and monocytes/macrophages is relevant for identifying novel putative therapeutic strategies for brain diseases. This review focuses on the effects of histamine in innate immune responses and the impact on neuronal survival, function, and differentiation/maturation, both in physiological and acute (ischemic stroke) and chronic neurodegenerative conditions (Parkinson's disease).

Keywords: Histamine; Innate immunity; Microglia; Monocytes; Neurodegenerative diseases; Parkinson’s disease; Stroke.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Acevedo SF, Pfankuch T, Ohtsu H, Raber J (2006) Anxiety and cognition in female histidine decarboxylase knockout (Hdc−/−) mice. Behav Brain Res 168:92–99 - PubMed - DOI
    1. Adachi N, Liu K, Arai T (2004) Alleviation of ischemic neuronal damage by postischemic loading with histidine in the rat striatum. Brain Res 998:136–138 - PubMed - DOI
    1. Adachi N, Liu K, Arai T (2005) Prevention of brain infarction by postischemic administration of histidine in rats. Brain Res 1039:220–223 - PubMed - DOI
    1. Agasse F, Bernardino L, Silva B, Ferreira R, Grade S, Malva JO (2008) Response to histamine allows the functional identification of neuronal progenitors, neurons, astrocytes, and immature cells in subventricular zone cell cultures. Rejuvenation Res 11:187–200 - PubMed - DOI
    1. Ahmed MR, Jayakumar M, Ahmed MS, Zamaleeva AI, Tao J, Li EH, Job JK, Pittenger C, Ohtsu H, Rajadas J (2019) Pharmacological antagonism of histamine H2R ameliorated L-DOPA–induced dyskinesia via normalization of GRK3 and by suppressing FosB and ERK in PD. Neurobiol Aging 81:177–189 - PubMed - DOI

LinkOut - more resources