H1-receptor blocker antihistamine, terfenadine durably influences the glucocorticoid receptor, and lymphocyte histamine content of weanling rats

Hormonal imprinting takes place perinatally when a hormone and its maturing target receptor meet. As a consequence of imprinting the receptor accomplishes its maturation reaching the binding capacity characteristic to the adult age. In this critical period the presence of foreign molecules which are able to bind to the receptor can cause faulty imprinting with life-long consequences. In the recent years it was cleared that not only receptors are influenced by faulty imprinting, however, also the hormone production of the given cell. In addition imprinting was provoked at non-perinatal periods (adolescence and adult age) in cytogenic organs. In the present experiment the prolonged effect of a non-perinatal imprinting by an antihistamine to the histamine content of white blood cells and glucocorticoid receptors of liver and thymus was studied. Two weeks after 3-day terfenadine treatment at weaning, flow cytometry of peritoneal cells and blood lymphocytes for histamine, and receptor kinetic analysis of dexamethasone binding were done. Histamine content of blood lymphocytes and glucocorticoid receptor density of liver cells were significantly decreased. This means that a short treatment with a H-1-receptor blocker antihistamine durably influences physiological indexes which were not known till now. This means that not only the acute effects, but the prolonged side-effects must be considered. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.