Histamine and astrocyte function

Abstract

Astrocytes support the brain through numerous functional interactions in health and disease. The recent advances in our knowledge of astrocyte involvement in various neurological disorders raised up several questions about their role and functioning in the central nervous system. From the evidence discussed in this review, we show that histamine importantly influences the main astrocytic activities such as ion homeostasis, energy metabolism, neurotransmitter clearance, neurotrophic activity and immune response. These processes are mediated through at least three histamine receptor subtypes, H1, H2 and H3, expressed on the astrocyte surface. Thus, we recognize histamine as an important player in the modulation of astrocytic functions that deserves further considerations in exploring involvement of astrocytes in neurological disorders.

Keywords: Astrocyte function; Histamine; Histamine receptors.