Immunocytochemical localization of histamine in flatworms

Specific antibodies against histamine were used to demonstrate the occurrence and cellular distribution of histamine-like immunoreactivity in three species of flatworms (phylum Platyhelminthes). In the parasitic cestode Diphyllobothrium dendriticum, histamine-reactivity was found in neurons of the main nerve cords, and in cells lining the central and peripheral excretory ducts. In the free-living microturbellarian Microstomum lineare and in the planarian Polycelis nigra, histamine-immunoreactivity was restricted to cells and fibres of the nervous system. The occurrence of histamine or a related substance in the nervous system of flatworms, which represent primary bilateria, indicates the importance of this neuroactive substance in the animal kingdom.