Involvement of the histaminergic system in leptin-induced suppression of food intake

The ob gene product leptin is secreted from white adipose tissue, and may regulate food intake by acting on the hypothalamus in the central nervous system. But the mechanism of this effect is still unclear. The central histaminergic system has been suggested to participate in the control of various physiological functions, particularly in feeding behavior, as it mediates anorectic signals like leptin. Thus, we hypothesized that the central histaminergic system is a target for leptin in its control of feeding. To prove this, we first examined the effect of i.p. administration of alpha-fluoromethylhistidine (FMH), a specific and irreversible inhibitor of histidine decarboxylase, on leptin-induced suppression of food intake in normal C57BL strain mice. Leptin treatment (1.3 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly reduced food intake by 60% of that of control at 6 h and by 84% at 24 h compared with control. When mice were injected with FMH (100 mg/kg, i.p.) before being given leptin, leptin-induced suppression of food intake was abolished and there was no significant difference compared with that of control. Additionally, we further examined the effects of leptin on food intake in mutant mice lacking histamine H, receptors (H1R-KO mice). Leptin injection significantly reduced food intake by 56% of that of control at 6 h and by 79% at 24 h in wild-type mice (WT mice), but not in H1R-KO mice. This finding suggests that leptin affects the feeding behavior through activation of the central histaminergic system via histamine H1 receptors.