HISTAMINE AS AN ACTIVATOR OF CELL-GROWTH AND EXTRACELLULAR-MATRIX RECONSTRUCTION FOR HUMAN VASCULAR SMOOTH-MUSCLE CELLS

Atherosclerosis is characterised by unusual growth of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in the intima. We examined the effects of histami ne on human VSMCs and the VSMC-derived cell line, ISS10. Histamine enh anced phosphoinositide hydrolysis, increased cytoplasmic Ca2+ level an d stimulated the transcription of c-fos protooncogene, which resulted in DNA synthesis and the enhancement of proMMP-1 expression. These res ults indicate that histamine may play some roles in the pathological p rocess of atherosclerosis and raise the possibility that mast cells mi grating into the atherosclerotic foci are involved in the process of a therosclerogenesis.