title: Histamine content in colorectal cancer. Are there sufficient levels of histamine to affect lymphocyte function?
abstract: Histamine has been found to stimulate growth of colorectal cancer in vitro and in vivo. Histamine has also been found to inhibit lymphocyte activity in vitro at concentrations greater than 10(-7) M. The aim of our study was to determine if the histamine concentrations in human colorectal cancer were sufficient to achieve these effects. We measured the histamine content in 31 colorectal cancer specimens using a radioenzymatic assay. Results were expressed as microgram histamine per gram of fresh tissue weight. Recovery and reproducibility studies were also carried out. The median histamine concentration in colorectal cancer tissue was 8.4 micrograms/g [7.6 x 10(-5)M], ranging from 0.3 microgram/g to 20.6 micrograms/g. The high concentration of histamine in colon cancer is enough to be locally immunosuppressive.
authors.affiliation: University of NSW Department of Surgery, St George Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Akhter
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Morris
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006632:Histamine / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007420:Intestine, Large / Q000737:chemistry; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D006632:Histamine