The regulation of histidine decarboxylase gene expression

Histamine is a biogenic amine, which is involved in a variety of biologic processes comprising inflammation, allergic responses, neurotransmission and regulation of gastric acid secretion. The key enzyme for the generation of histamine is histidine decarboxylase (HDC), which converts the amino acid L-histidine to histamine. In this article, we review the history, biochemistry and molecular biology of this enzyme. Northern blot studies in rats demonstrated that HDC gene expression in the stomach and liver are developmentally regulated with highest levels of expression in the late fetal state, indicating a role of the gene in growth and development. In the stomach of adult rats, HDC mRNA levels are elevated after omeprazole-induced hypergastrinemia, and in situ hybridization showed that expression of HDC is restricted to the glandular area in which ECL cells are located. Since no permanent ECL cell line is at hand for in vitro studies, we established a suitable cell system by stable transfection of a human gastric adenocarcinoma cell line (AGS) with the CCK-B/gastrin receptor. Transfection of this AGS-B cell line with reporter gene constructs comprising 5'-flanking DNA sequence of the HDC gene joined to the firefly luciferase gene revealed transcriptional regulation of the HDC promoter by gastrin through a protein-kinase C-dependent pathway. Taken together, these studies are consistent with the concept of HDC transcriptional regulation as at least one phase of the overall response to gastrin.