Abstract

The activity of histidine-decarboxylase (HD) and histamine-N-methyl transferase (HMT) was studied in the hypothalamus and cerebral cortex of rats from birth to adulthood. Developmental patterns were compared in sea level controls and in rats born and maintained continuously in a natural hypoxic environment (at a high altitude of 3800 m, PO2 13%) to determine whether chronic stress alters the development of the enzymes for histamine. When expressed in terms of total activity, both enzyme activities were low at birth and progressively increased with age in the two areas studied. When expressed in terms of specific activity, the developmental pattern of the enzymes better reflected that of histamine: for example, at birth, high HD activity and low HMT corresponded to high histamine levels; at 7 days, low HD activity and high HMT corresponded to low histamine levels. It is suggested that a feedback mechanism may operate between endogenous histamine levels and the activity of its synthesizing and catabolizing enzymes.

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