AJP - Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol 248, Issue 1 26-E30, Copyright © 1985 by American Physiological Society
Suppression of endotoxin-induced corticosterone secretion in rats by H1-antihistamine
S. Suzuki and K. Nakano
Corticosterone (CS) secretion is stimulated in rats by an intraperitoneal
injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or by subjecting the
animals to immobilization stress. LPS injection caused a significant
increase in the lung histamine level and a sharp reduction in the number of
intact peritoneal mast cells. Injection of compound 48/80, a histamine
liberator, provoked an increase in the histamine levels of the blood and
lung and a decrease in the number of intact peritoneal mast cells with a
concomitant increase in CS secretion. Administration of histamine, at a
dose of 10 mg/kg, induced a marked increase in CS release. LPS-induced CS
secretion was attenuated by pretreatment with an H1-antihistamine,
promethazine (PMZ), whereas an H2-antihistamine, metiamide, had no effect.
In contrast, PMZ was ineffective on CS release provoked by immobilization
stress. These results suggest that LPS-induced CS release is mediated, in
part, by histamine released in the peripheral tissues, whereas an
immobilization stress-induced increase is not mediated by the amine.
