A c c e p t e d m a n u s c r i p tCaspase activities were assessed by using commercial Caspase-Glo ® 3/7, 8, and 9 luminescence assays.Histamine (10-100 µM) partially reversed IL-5-induced human eosinophil survival by enhancing apoptosis as assessed by measuring the relative DNA content of PI-stained cells.This effect was not mediated through any of the known histamine receptors or through nonspecific activation of 5-hydroxytryptamine receptors or α-adrenoceptors. Moreover, the reversal of IL-5-inhibited eosinophil apoptosis by histamine seemed not to utilize the conventional intracellular second messenger pathways including cyclic AMP, protein kinase A or phospholipase C. Inhibition of caspase 6 and caspases 1, 10 or 12 reversed the effects of histamine but also inhibited apoptosis in general.In conclusion, the data presented herein indicate that histamine induces human eosinophil apoptosis in the presence of a survival-prolonging cytokine by a mechanism that does not apparently involve the activation of any of the currently known histamine receptor subtypes.The possibility exists that another, as yet unidentified, histamine receptor may exist in human eosinophils that regulates survival, although the participation of histamine receptorindependent mechanisms cannot be excluded.
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