Open AccessHistamine Promotes Locomotion Recovery After Spinal Cord Hemisection via Inhibiting Astrocytic Scar Formation
Author(s) -
Zhao YanYan,
Yuan Yang,
Chen Ying,
Jiang Lei,
Liao RuJia,
Wang Lu,
Zhang XiangNan,
Ohtsu Hiroshi,
Hu WeiWei,
Chen Zhong
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
cns neuroscience and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1755-5949
pISSN - 1755-5930
DOI - 10.1111/cns.12379
Subject(s) - astrogliosis , histamine , histamine h1 receptor , histamine receptor , glial scar , spinal cord injury , pharmacology , histamine h3 receptor , histidine decarboxylase , histamine h4 receptor , astrocyte , antagonist , chemistry , medicine , neuroscience , receptor , central nervous system , spinal cord , histamine h2 receptor , biology , biochemistry , amino acid , histidine
Summary Aim This study investigated whether histamine could play a protective role in pathophysiological response of spinal cord injury ( SCI ) and regulate the glial scar formation. Methods Functional assessment and histological analyses were performed to investigate the effect of histamine after SCI . Histidine decarboxylase knockout ( HDC −/− ) mice were used to confirm the action of histamine. Selective antagonists for H1 and H2 receptors were utilized in vivo and in vitro to verify the functional properties of histamine on astrogliosis. Results The local administration of histamine significantly attenuated the tissue damage and glial scar formation after SCI . In particular, the astrogliosis and neurocan expression found around the lesion were significantly suppressed by histamine. Immunofluorescent staining for neurofilament showed that histamine promoted axonal growth across the glial scar. The HDC −/− mice, lacking in endogenous histamine, showed lower behavior score, increased lesion size and astrogliosis, as compared with the wild types. The effect of histamine on locomotor recovery and reactive astrogliosis is reversed by H1 receptor antagonist but not H2 receptor antagonist. Conclusions Our results indicate that histamine significantly improved the chronic locomotor recovery via attenuating astrogliosis after SCI by stimulating histamine H1 receptor. This study highlights a therapeutic potential of histamine and its related drugs for SCI .