A simple one-dimensional paper chromatograph technique is described for the separation of radioactive histamine and some of its metabolites in blood and tissues. After removal of protein, the supernatant fluid (200 microliter) is subjected to two-stage one-dimensional paper chromatography. This enables large numbers of samples to be chromatographed simultaneously. Using this technique in conjunction with liquid scintillation counting, it was possible to monitor the small amounts (0.02 nCi) of radioactive histamine and its metabolites in serial blood samples.

Animals↗

PubMed1978

Metabolism and distribution of exogenous histamine in cats.

1 The metabolism and disposition in blood and tissues of exogenous [(14)C]-histamine was examined in cats.2 The principal metabolites in blood of histamine instilled into the small intestine (directly or by transfer from the stomach) and colon were imidazoleacetic acid and t-methylimidazoleacetic acid, being present in approximately equal amounts although in individual cats one or other acid could predominate. Only small amounts of histamine entered the circulation although in two of four cats given the largest dose (82 mumol/kg) large amounts were recovered. The amount of (14)C radioactivity absorbed varied directly with the dose instilled. The chief metabolite in kidney and urine, whether histamine was instilled into the intestine or infused parenterally, was t-methylimidazoleacetic acid. Histamine was not absorbed from the stomach and its metabolism there was negligible.3 In contrast, when histamine was infused into blood leaving the intestine (portal vein) the main metabolite in blood and tissues was t-methylimidazoleacetic acid being found in approximately 5-fold the concentration of imidazoleacetic acid. The small amount of histamine which eluded inactivation/uptake by liver, lungs, heart during the infusion was halved on circulation through the intestine. When histamine was infused into blood supplying the intestine, (cranial mesenteric artery) t-methylimidazoleacetic acid while still the major metabolite in blood was now only 1.4 times the concentration of imidazoleacetic acid. Additionally, the blood concentration of histamine during the infusion exceeded that of the metabolites.4t-Methylimidazoleacetic acid was also the principal metabolite in blood and tissues following histamine infusion into a cannula carrying a replacement venous blood supply to the liver of abdominally eviscerated cats. Imidazoleacetic acid and t-methylhistamine were present in equal concentrations and in one-quarter to one-third that of the methylated acid. The latter was also the principal metabolite following intra-arterial histamine infusion to abdominally eviscerated cats without a hepatic blood supply, although initially t-methylhistamine predominated: a large peak of histamine was present during the infusion period. When additionally the renal vessels were ligated, t-methylhistamine predominated throughout the experiment.5 In conclusion, intraduodenally instilled histamine was metabolized equally by diamine oxidase and imidazole N-methyltransferase (followed by deamination by monoamine oxidase). In contrast, imidazole N-methyltransferase was the principal inactivator of parenterally infused histamine, deamination of t-methylhistamine by monoamine oxidase becoming progressively less efficient with the cumulative exclusion of the intestines, liver and kidney from the circulation.

Abdominal Muscles↗

PubMed1976