Histamine: A Bacterial Signal Molecule.

Tino Krell, José A Gavira, Félix Velando, Matilde Fernández, Amalia Roca, Elizabet Monteagudo-Cascales, Miguel A Matilla

International journal of molecular sciences 2021 Jun 12

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Bacteria have evolved sophisticated signaling mechanisms to coordinate interactions with organisms of other domains, such as plants, animals and human hosts. Several important signal molecules have been identified that are synthesized by members of different domains and that play important roles in inter-domain communication. In this article, we review recent data supporting that histamine is a signal molecule that may play an important role in inter-domain and inter-species communication. Histamine is a key signal molecule in humans, with multiple functions, such as being a neurotransmitter or modulator of immune responses. More recent studies have shown that bacteria have evolved different mechanisms to sense histamine or histamine metabolites. Histamine sensing in the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa was found to trigger chemoattraction to histamine and to regulate the expression of many virulence-related genes. Further studies have shown that many bacteria are able to synthesize and secrete histamine. The release of histamine by bacteria in the human gut was found to modulate the host immune responses and, at higher doses, to result in host pathologies. The elucidation of the role of histamine as an inter-domain signaling molecule is an emerging field of research and future investigation is required to assess its potential general nature.

Citation

Tino Krell, José A Gavira, Félix Velando, Matilde Fernández, Amalia Roca, Elizabet Monteagudo-Cascales, Miguel A Matilla. Histamine: A Bacterial Signal Molecule. International journal of molecular sciences. 2021 Jun 12;22(12)