Histamine Research in the New Millennium

Book excerpt: These proceedings cover the most recent advances on histamine research from basic science to clinical medicine. Histamine is an endogenous compound that is synthesized, stored, and released primarily by mast cells and after release exerts profound effects on many tissues and organs. It is one of the cellular mediators of the immediate hypersensitivity reaction and the acute inflammatory responses, as well as primary stimulant of gastric acid secretion. A central neurotransmitter role for histamine has been also established. Histamine research has been very dynamic since it discovery in 1910. Among recent important advances are: Generation of Histamine H1, H2, H3 receptors and histidine decraboxylase (HDC) knockout mice; Clarification of the constitutive activity of the H1, H2 and H3 receptors; Characterisation of H3 receptor isoforms with distinct signaling properties; and Characterisation and cloning of the H4 receptor.