Abstract
Using a specific radioenzymatic assay, histamine was detected and measured in the lumen contents of six different segments of the small intestine of uninfected rats and rats infected withHymenolepis diminuta as well as in worm tissues. The distribution of histamine in the lumen of the small intestine of uninfected rats was found to range from 1.4±0.1 μM in the first (anterior) segment to 0.59±0.13 mM in the sixth (posterior) segment. There were no significant differences between these concentrations and those found in the lumen contents of intestine from rats infected withH. diminuta. On the other hand, although mostH. diminuta was confined to the second and third segments, the concentration of histamine associated with the worm tissues (5.4±0.4 μM) was significantly lower than that inHymenolepis-containing intestinal segments. The data suggest that established infections ofH. diminuta do not cause a significant increase in histamine levels in host's intestinal lumen, nor do they affect the spatial gradient in the lumen.
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Yonge, K.A., Webb, R.A. Distribution of histamine in the lumen contents of the small intestine of uninfected andHymenolepis diminuta-infected rats. Parasitol Res 76, 162–165 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00930839
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00930839