Role of histamine produced by macrophages in mouse bone marrow.

Promyelocytic HL-60 cells differentiated into mature cells when they were cultured in the presence of dimaprit (10(-4) M), a histamine H2 agonist. An injection of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide increased the activity of histidine decarboxylase in bone marrow cells in C3H/HeN mice to a much greater extent than in C3H/HeJ mice, which are resistant to various effects of lipopolysaccharide. Histamine production increased concomitantly. In WBB6/F1 (W/W(v)) mice, which are genetically deficient in mast cells, histidine decarboxylase activity increased more than in C3H/HeN mice. Pure (>99% nonspecific esterase, CD14 and Mac-1 positive) macrophage populations were obtained from long-term culture of the bone marrow cells (bone marrow-derived macrophages, BMDM). Culture of the cells in the presence of lipopolysaccharide caused a slight, but dose-dependent increase in histidine decarboxylase-associated histamine synthesis. Granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rmGM-CSF) or interleukin 3 (rmIL-3) potently increased lipopolysaccharide-induced histamine formation.