Histamine suppression of lymphocyte activation
Brostoff, J.; Pack, S.; Lydyard, P.M.
Clinical and Experimental Immunology 39(3): 739-745
1980
ISSN/ISBN: 0009-9104 PMID: 6966551 Document Number: 156874
Histamine suppressed cells alone cultured with histamine was suppressed, indicating that histamine can exert its effect directly on T cell proliferation without the requirement for accessory cells. Atopic subjects were more sensitive to histamine-induced suppression than normals. The presence of histamine produced locally during a Type I response may provide a mechanism for preventing proliferation of sensitized T cells which enter the site of antigen stimulation. In the atopic, who already has the immunological machinery to mount cell-mediated immune responses to pollens, this increased histamine sensitivity may be protective in suppressing unwanted delayed hypersensitivity reactions.