PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Leite-de-Moraes, Maria C.
AU  - Diem, Séverine
AU  - Michel, Marie-Laure
AU  - Ohtsu, Hiroshi
AU  - Thurmond, Robin L.
AU  - Schneider, Elke
AU  - Dy, Michel
TI  - Cutting Edge: Histamine Receptor H4 Activation Positively Regulates In Vivo IL-4 and IFN-γ Production by Invariant NKT Cells
AID  - 10.4049/jimmunol.182.3.1233
DP  - 2009 Feb 01
TA  - The Journal of Immunology
PG  - 1233--1236
VI  - 182
IP  - 3
4099  - http://www.jimmunol.org/content/182/3/1233.short
4100  - http://www.jimmunol.org/content/182/3/1233.full
SO  - J. Immunol.2009 Feb 01; 182
AB  - Histamine (HA) is a biogenic amine with multiple activities in the immune system. In this study we demonstrate that histamine-free histidine decarboxylase-deficient (HDC−/−) mice present a numerical and functional deficit in invariant NK T (iNKT) cells as evidenced by a drastic decrease of IL-4 and IFN-γ production. This deficiency was established both by measuring cytokine levels in the serum and intracellularly among gated iNKT cells. It resulted from the lack of HA, because a single injection of this amine into HDC−/− mice sufficed to restore normal IL-4 and IFN-γ production. HA-induced functional recovery was mediated mainly through the H4 histamine receptor (H4R), as assessed by its abrogation after a single injection of a selective H4R antagonist and the demonstration of a similar iNKT cell deficit in H4R−/− mice. Our findings identify a novel function of HA through its H4R and suggest that it might become instrumental in modulating iNKT cell functions.