Histidine Metabolism in Urticaria Pigmentosa*

Histamine Metabolism in Man

“…Additional support for GADDUM'S theory might be taken from experiments published by DEMIS and BROWN (1961). These authors gave 14 mg L-histidine labelled with C14 (10 f-lC) orally to II healthy subjects, two patients with urticaria pigmentosa and one patient with chronic urticaria and found no radioactive histamine or known histamine metabolites in the urine.…”

“…In this way LILJA, LINDELL and SALDEEN (1960) demonstrated decarboxylation of histidine in human lung tissue in the absence of bacteria. DEMIS and BROWN (1961) and LINDELL et al (1961a) found histamine formation from L-histidine incubated with skin from subjects with urticaria pigmentosa. Blood from subjects with chronic myelogenous leukemia has been found to decarboxylate histidine under sterile conditions (HARTMAN, CLARK and CYR, 1961).…”

Pharmacology of the Skin I

“…The enzyme specific for L-histidine is inhibited by amethylhistidine (KAHLSON et al 1962) and it is present in rat peritoneal mast cells (SCHAYER 1956 a). In urticaria pigmentosa, where increased numbers of mast cells are present in the skin, it has been shown that the skin has increased histidine decarboxylase activity which is about 10 times greater in the lesion than in the unaffected skin (DEMIS and BROWN 1961). The low turnover of skin histamine has already been referred to above, and it has been shown that while histamine formation can be inhibited by feeding a pyridoxine-free diet and using the histidine decarboxylase inhibitor, semicarbazide, skin histamine levels remain unchanged (KAHLSON 1960).…”

Histamine formation from 14C‐l‐histidine in man

“…To our knowledge it has so far not been possible to demonstrate the formation of histamine from C"-L-histidine in man in vivo (Brown, Silva, McDonald, Snyder & Kies, 1960;Lindell & Westling, 1966). Especially remarkable is the failure to demonstrate "C-activity in urinary histamine metabolites after giving labelled histidine to patients with mastocytosis (Demis & Brown, 1961), since this disease is held to be associated with an increased rate of histamine formation.…”

“…Especially remarkable is the failure to demonstrate "C-activity in urinary histamine metabolites after giving labelled histidine to patients with mastocytosis (Demis & Brown, 1961), since this disease is held to be associated with an increased rate of histamine formation.…”