H-3 Receptors and Pain Modulation: Peripheral, Spinal, and Brain Interactions

Histamine H-3 receptors (H(3)Rs), distributed within the brain, the spinal cord, and on specific types of primary sensory neurons, can modulate pain transmission by several mechanisms. In the skin, H(3)Rs are found on certain A beta fibers, and on keratinocytes and Merkel cells, as well as on deep dermal, peptidergic A delta fibers terminating on deep dermal blood vessels. Activation of H(3)Rs on the latter in the skin, heart, lung, and dura mater reduces calcitonin gene-related peptide and substance P release, leading to anti-inflammatory (but not antinociceptive) actions. However, activation of H(3)Rs on the spinal terminals of these sensory fibers reduces nociceptive responding to low-intensity mechanical stimuli and inflammatory stimuli such as formalin. These findings suggest that H3R agonists might be useful analgesics, but these drugs have not been tested in clinically relevant pain models. Paradoxically, H-3 antagonists/inverse agonists have also been reported to attenuate several types of pain responses, including phase II responses to formalin. In the periaqueductal gray (an important pain regulatory center), the H-3 inverse agonist thioperamide releases neuronal histamine and mimics histamine's biphasic modulatory effects in thermal nociceptive tests. Newer H-3 inverse agonists with potent, selective, and brain-penetrating properties show efficacy in several neuropathic and arthritis pain models, but the sites and mechanisms for these actions remain poorly understood.