A new fixation procedure for study of the histaminergic neurons by immunoelectron microscopy using the direct antiserum against histamine

Expression pattern of histaminergic neurons in the human fetal hypothalamus at second and third trimester

Background

The hypothalamic nuclei constitute that part of the corticodiencephalic mechanism that activates, controls and integrates the peripheral, autonomic mechanisms, endocrine activity and many somatic functions. Their full integration into behavior requires the neocortex, in particular the limbic system.

Purpose

An antiserum against histamine was used to reveal the location and time of appearance of the amine in developing fetal hypothalamus. Although the expression pattern of histamine is well studied in mammals, less is known about it in humans. The neurotransmitter histamine plays a crucial role in co-ordinating mutiple inputs from various brain centres.

Methods

In the present investigations the hypothalamus was studied in the human fetus ranging from 19 weeks of gestation (GW) to term by using immunocytochemistry. Distinct neurons that stained with Pischinger’s methylene blue were obsereved from 19 GW to term. Sections adjacent to those that contained neurons were stained for histamine labeling. Immunoreactive neurons in the hypothalamus at 19 GW of gestation show relatively meager population.

Results

Histamine immunoreactive (His-ir) neurons of the hypothalamus were divisible in lateral and ventrolateral subgroups at 19 GW to 24 GW At 32 GW along with the neuronal cell bodies some beaded fibers were visible. There was progressive increase in the histamine expressing neurons as the fetus grows. In term fetal specimens, two to three small groups of his-ir neurons gradually merged in a single large ventrolateral group.

Conclusion

The findings of the present study provide for a better understanding of the chemoneuroarchitecture of histamine containing neurons in hypothalamus during second and third trimester of human fetal development.

Functional heterogeneity of the responses of histaminergic neuron subpopulations to various stress challenges

In rats, the cell bodies of the histaminergic neuronal system are clustered in five distinct cell groups (E1-E5) within the posterior hypothalamus. On the basis of tract tracing studies, these histaminergic subgroups have been regarded as one functional unit. In addition to its well-characterized role in arousal, locomotor activity, metabolism, feeding, drinking and behaviour, as well as in coordination of autonomic functions, histamine has been implicated in regulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis during stress. To address the capacity of different histaminergic subgroups to respond to various challenges, we revealed c-Fos, the immediate early gene marker of activated neurons, in histamine synthesizing neurons by combining c-Fos immunocytochemistry with in situ hybridization of histidine decarboxylase (HDC) mRNA. Compared to the negligible colocalization of these markers in control rats, restraint, insulin-induced hypoglycaemia and foot shock resulted in specific activation of histamine synthesizing neurons of the E4 and E5 subgroup in the tuberomammillary region. Up to 36% of HDC mRNA-expressing cells show c-Fos immunoreactivity in the E5 region. In addition, some neurons of the E1, E2 and E3 histaminergic groups were activated after restraint stress. Many less c-Fos-positive histaminergic neurons were detected after immobilization and dehydration. Ether stress, acute hyperosmotic stimulus or injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide did not activate hypothalamic HDC-positive neurons. These results suggest, for the first time, the functional heterogeneity of histaminergic neuron population, the components of which are recruited in a stressor- and subgroup-specific manner.

Hyperleptinemia, visceral adiposity, and decreased glucose tolerance in mice with a targeted disruption of the histidine decarboxylase gene

Histamine has been referred to as an anorexic factor that decreases appetite and fat accumulation and affects feeding behavior. Tuberomammillary histaminergic neurons have been implicated in central mediation of peripheral metabolic signals such as leptin, and centrally released histamine inhibits ob gene expression. Here we have characterized the metabolic phenotype of mice that completely lack the ability to produce histamine because of targeted disruption of the key enzyme in histamine biosynthesis (histidine decarboxylase, HDC). Histochemical analyses confirmed the lack of HDC mRNA, histamine immunoreactivity, and histaminergic innervation throughout the brain of gene knockout mouse. Aged histamine-deficient (HDC-/-) mice are characterized by visceral adiposity, increased amount of brown adipose tissue, impaired glucose tolerance, hyperinsulinemia, and hyperleptinemia. Histamine-deficient animals are not hyperphagic but gain more weight and are calorically more efficient than wild-type controls. These metabolic changes presumably are due to the impaired regulatory loop between leptin and hypothalamic histamine that results in orexigenic dominance through decreased energy expenditure, attenuated ability to induce uncoupling protein-1 mRNA in the brown adipose tissue and defect in mobilizing energy stores. Our results further support the role of histamine in regulation of energy homeostasis.