Antisera against rat recombinant histidine decarboxylase: Immunocytochemical studies in different species

Histamine is involved in many important biological processes such as allerg ic reactions, gastric acid secretion and neurotransmission. The formation o f histamine is catalysed by the enzyme histidine decarboxylase. In order to understand the role of histamine in different tissues, information about t he cellular localisation of the decarboxylase is important. However, the av ailability of antisera against the enzyme, which can be used in immunocytoc hemical techniques, has so far been limited, mainly due to the difficulties in purifying sufficient amounts of histidine decarboxylase from various ti ssues. In the present study we describe the use of antisera raised against rat recombinant histidine decarboxylase to localise the enzyme immunocytoch emically in the gastric mucosa of different mammals and submammalian verteb rates. The antisera specifically stained histidine decarboxylase-immunoreac tive cells in the gastric mucosa of not only rat, but also of species like frog, chicken, mouse and dog. This is the first report describing the immun ocytochemical distribution of the decarboxylase in the gastric mucosa of sp ecies other than rat. These antisera are likely to become valuable tools fo r further studies of the immunocytochemical localisation of histidine decar boxylase.