Simultaneous determination of histamine and serotonin in mast cells by high-performance liquid chromatography

Spectrophotometric and electrochemical studies of the interaction between iron(II) tetrasulfophthalocyanine and histamine

The interaction between iron(II) tetrasulfophthalocyanine ([ Fe II TSPc ]4+) and histamine results in the oxidation of the central metal by oxygen in the former, with the formation of a complex denoted as [(His) Fe III TSPc ]3− (where His = histamine). The rate constant for the formation of the complex is kf = 2.41 × 10−2 dm 3.mol−1.s−1 and an equilibrium constant of 6.3 dm3.mol-1 was obtained. The oxidation state of the central metal of [ Fe II TSPc ]4− before and after the coordination of histamine is confirmed by spectroelectrochemistry. Further electrochemical oxidation of this [( His ) Fe III TsPc ]3− derivative results in a metal-based process proposed to involve an Fe IV phthalocyanine species.

Selective histamine piezoelectric chemosensor using a recognition film of the molecularly imprinted polymer of bis(bithiophene) derivatives

A histamine piezoelectric (acoustic) sensor using a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film has been devised and tested. The sensor comprises an electrodeposited MIP film as the recognition element and a 10 MHz AT-cut shear-thickness-mode bulk-acoustic-wave quartz crystal resonator with Pt film electrodes as the signal transducer. Preparation of the sensing film involved two consecutive electrochemical polymerizations, performed under cyclic voltammetric conditions, with the use of a supporting electrolyte of 0.1 M tetra-n-butylammonium perchlorate in acetonitrile. First, a poly(bithiophene) barrier film was deposited by electropolymerization on the Pt/quartz resonator to prevent histamine electro-oxidation and avoid possible contamination of the Pt electrode surface. Next, the histamine-templated MIP film was deposited by electropolymerization on top of this barrier film. For that purpose, two functional monomers of bis(bithiophene) derivatives, i.e., one bearing the 18-crown-6 and the other dioxoborinane substituent, were copolymerized in the presence of the histamine template. The consecutive growth of both these overlaid films was monitored with an electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM). Subsequently, the histamine was extracted from MIP with 0.01 M NaOH for 12 h. The UV-vis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic measurements confirmed the completeness of the removal of the histamine template from the MIP film. The analytical performance of the chemosensor was assessed under flow injection analysis (FIA) conditions using the carrier 0.5 M HEPES buffer (pH = 7.5) solution and the piezoelectric microgravimetry detection at QCM. The negative peaks of resonant frequency linearly decreased with the increase of the histamine concentration in the range 10-100 mM for 150 microL/min flow rate, and 100 microL volume of the injected sample. The sensitivity of the chemosensor (0.33 Hz/mM) was more than twice as that of the chemosensor without the poly(bithiophene) barrier film (0.15 Hz/mM). The chemosensor performance was superior for selective histamine recognition if the poly(bithiophene) barrier film thickness exceeded 200 nm. The chemosensor discriminated histamine from functionally or structurally similar compounds, such as dopamine, tryptamine, and imidazole. Stability constants of the affinity complexes of MIP and analyte or the interfering agent were determined from kinetic studies. For the MIP-histamine complex, the stability constant thus evaluated was equal to 57.0 M(-1) being much higher than those for the MIP-tryptamine and MIP-dopamine complexes determined to be 10.7, and 6.4 M(-1), respectively. The concentration limit of detection was as low as 5 nM histamine if the carrier solution flow rate was as low as 35 microL/min and the injection sample volume as large as 1 mL.

Novel Imidazole PVC-Based Sensor Based on a Thiopyrilium Compound

A novel imidazole membrane sensor based on 2,4,6-triphenyl thiopyrilium perchlorate (TTP) as an excellent charged carrier, poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), the plasticizer dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and oleic acid as an additive is described. The sensor responds to imidazole over a wide concentration range from 1.0 x 10(-5) to 1.0 x 10(-1) M with a slope of +33.5 +/- 0.5 mV per decade. The detection limit of the electrode is 3.0 x 10(-6) M and it can be used for at least four weeks without any measurable change in sensitivity. The sensitivity of the electrode is high enough to permit the detection of as little as 0.2 microg/ml of imidazole without any significant interference from high levels of other components and especially, amino acids. The potentiometric selectivity coefficient data revealed negligible interference from common cations, anions and amino acids. The electrode has a relatively fast response time (<30 s), and good slope stability. The proposed sensor was successfully applied to the determination of imidazole in synthetic serum samples.

Measurement of histamine in individual rat peritoneal mast cells by capillary zone electrophoresis with electrochemical detection

Capillary zone electrophoresis was employed for the analysis of histamine in single rat peritoneal mast cells using an amperometric detector with a carbon fiber microdisk bundle electrode. In this method, individual mast cells and then 0.02 mol/l NaOH as a lysing solution are injected into the front end of the separation capillary by electromigration with an aid of a inverted microscope. A cell injector was constructed. Using it, the cell suspension was static, when a voltage for injecting single cells was applied. Histamine in single rat peritoneal mast cells have been identified. Quantitation has been accomplished through the use of calibration curves. The mean amount of histamine for nine cells is 95.8 fmol, which is consistent with the literature value.

Quantification of histamine in blood plasma and cell culture supernatants: a validated one-step gas chromatography-mass spectrometry method

A novel one-step ethylchloroformate (ECF) derivatization of histamine in biological liquid matrices that allows the sensitive quantification by gas chromatography and mass spectroscopic detection (GC-MS) from small volumes of blood plasma or cell culture supernatants within 15 min is described. After addition of ECF/chloroform directly to the crude sample, histamine has been found to be quantitatively derivatized within seconds. Following centrifugation, the organic phase is transferred to a fresh vial, dried by addition of anhydrous sodium sulfate, and subjected to GC-MS analysis. The reliability of the results is verified by use of two different ion pairs for detection. The method is validated according to DIN 38402. Linearity is given from 0.0054 to 13 microg/ml and the limit of detection is 2 ng/ml (10 pg absolute, at a signal to noise ratio of 3:1). The limit of quantification, as calculated at a confidence level of 95%, is 15.6 ng/ml. Practical application is exemplified by the determination of the histamine content in blood plasma of birch pollen-sensitized mice and in the culture supernatant of rat basophil leukemia cells after Ca(2+) ionophore-mediated degranulation.

Behavior and characteristics of amine derivatives obtained with o-phthaldialdehyde/3-mercaptopropionic acid and with o-phthaldialdehyde/N-acetyl-L-cysteine reagents

A comprehensive evaluation of papers dealing with the HPLC quantitation of amines as o-phthaldialdehyde (OPA) derivatives has been given and discussed in details. The stability and characteristics of selected representatives of mono [methyl-, ethyl-, n-/isopropyl, n-/isobutyl-, tert.-butyl-, sec.-butyl-, isoamyl amines and ethanolamine), di- and polyamines (ethylenediamine, 1,2-propylenediamine, 1,3-propylenediamine, agmatine, tyramine, putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, spermine, spermidine, and bis(hexamethylene)triamine] have been investigated as their OPA/3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) and OPA/N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) derivatives, from an analytical point of view, performing photodiode array and fluorescence detection, simultaneously. All amines having in their original structure the NH2-CH2-R moiety, in accord with the amino acids of the same structure, furnished more than one OPA derivative: their initially formed species transformed to further ones. On the basis of on-line HPLC-MS the transformed derivatives were proved to be the corresponding isoindoles that contain an additional OPA molecule. In order to achieve optimum analytical conditions derivatization reagents have been applied in different composition, in parallel. The OPA and the SH-group additive contents of the reagents have been varied in the mole ratios of OPA/MPA(NAC)=1:3 and OPA/MPA(NAC)=1:50. Data obtained proved that performing derivatizations by means of the OPA/MPA(NAC)=1:50 reagents resulted in two benefits: both the stability of derivatives could have been increased and the number of the transformed derivatives decreased. In case of aliphatic amines and in ethanolamine, the transformation of the initially formed derivative can be either quantitatively avoided as in the case of ethanolamine, or considerably decreased, below 1%, as in the cases of the other aliphatic monoamines investigated. As to the behavior of di- and polyamines the stability of derivatives has been considerably improved, the number of species have been decreased from four to two with the exception of spermidine. Stability values characterized both by the UV and fluorescence responses, as a function of the reaction time (from 90 s up to 6 h) have been given in details.

In vivo histamine release from brain cortex: the effects of modulating cellular and extracellular sodium and calcium channels

The in vivo mechanisms underlying the actions of modulating Na(+)- and Ca(2+)-sensitive channels and its effect on basal histamine release in the cerebral cortex of freely-moving unanesthetized rats was investigated. Basal histamine release in the cerebral cortex was determined by in vivo microdialysis coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fluorometry detection. Basal levels of histamine were 0.67+/-0.02 pmol/10 microl of dialysate. Diltiazem, a Ca(2+) channel antagonist, produced a dose-dependent decrease in dialysate basal histamine concentration. Elevated K(+) (100 mM) in the perfusion medium increased basal histamine to a maximum of 223% of the baseline value. Similarly, diltiazem (60 mM) reduced the K(+), veratridine (100 microg/ml) and ouabain (100 microM)-evoked increase in dialysate histamine. Basal histamine decreased by 48% when the perfusate contained 3 microM of voltage dependent Na(+) antagonist tetrodotoxin. The results of these studies indicate that the release of histamine in rat cerebral cortex can be induced by modulating Na(+) and Ca(2+) channels and that the L-type voltage-dependent sensitive Ca(2+) channels are involved in this release process.

Acetaldehyde induces histamine release from purified rat peritoneal mast cells

Acetaldehyde is a widely distributed compound in the human environment and it is also formed in the human body from various endogenous and exogenous sources, exogenous ethanol being the most important one. Many alcohol-associated hypersensitivity reactions, e.g. Oriental flushing reaction, appear to be attributable to acetaldehyde rather than to ethanol itself. The pathogenetic mechanism behind such hypersensitivity reactions has been suggested to be histamine release from mast cells or blood basophils. However, the direct effects of acetaldehyde on mast cells, the main source of histamine in a mammalian body, have not been studied. The aim of the present study was, thus, to evaluate whether physiological concentrations of acetaldehyde could release histamine from purified rat peritoneal mast cells. The effects of ethanol were studied similarly. The results show that acetaldehyde, already at a concentration of 50 microM, significantly increases the release of histamine from mast cells. Ethanol has a similar effect but only at molar concentrations. These results indicate that acetaldehyde may contribute to the development of various hypersensitivity reactions by directly increasing histamine release from mast cells.

Direct analysis of single rat peritoneal mast cells with laser vaporization/ionization mass spectrometry

A linear time-of-flight mass spectrometer was used as a detector for flow cytometry. These two techniques were coupled by a laser vaporization/ionization interface. The estimated mass detection limit of the combined system was 20 amol of serotonin standard with one laser pulse. An aqueous buffer at physiological pH was used to ensure compatibility with cells. Rat peritoneal mast cells (RPMCs) were dispensed into the mass spectrometer in a single file confined within a 20-micron-i.d. capillary. By using the mass spectrometer as a detector, no precolumn staining or derivatization is required. Determination of serotonin and histamine in individual cells was demonstrated. With this method, hundreds of cells can be analyzed within a few minutes. The average amounts of histamine and serotonin per RPMC were found to be 0.75 +/- 0.33 and 0.11 +/- 0.06 fmol, respectively. No correlation was found between the amounts of the two amines in each cell.

Serotonin receptors expressed by myelinating Schwann cells in rat sciatic nerve

We have previously reported that Schwann cells cultured from rat sciatic nerves express 5-HT2A receptors. In this study we extend these in vitro observations to Schwann cells in situ. Since the serotonin (5-HT) levels in rat sciatic nerve are elevated following nerve injury, we examined Schwann cells in healthy and injured adult rat sciatic nerves. These nerves were double-labeled immunohistochemically with an anti-idiotypic antibody that recognizes 5-HT1B, 5-HT2A, and 5-HT2C receptors and an antibody against S100beta, a Schwann cell marker. 5-HT receptor labeling was observed in Schwann cells of healthy and regenerating nerves, but not of degenerating nerves, while S100beta labeling was observed in the Schwann cells of all nerves examined. The 5-HT receptor immunolabeling was cytoplasmic, as with the cultured Schwann cells. While staining was observed at the nodes of Ranvier, it was not restricted to these locations. These results suggest that myelinating rat Schwann cells normally express 5-HT receptors in vivo, and that receptor expression is reduced during times when 5-HT levels are elevated in the sciatic endoneurium.