Histamine down-regulates IL-27 production in antigen-presenting cells.

Histamine is a potent mediator in allergic inflammation with immunomodulatory properties. Since histamine was described to inhibit IL-12 production in human APCs, we hypothesized that also the expression of IL-27, a newly described member of the IL-12 family, which is present in inflammatory skin lesions, is modulated by histamine. Stimulation of human monocytes with histamine resulted in significant reduction of TLR ligand-induced IL-27 production in human monocytes. IL-27 subunits, p28 and EBI3, were down-regulated at the mRNA and protein level, whereas other cytokines, such as IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α, were not influenced. Studies with histamine receptor-specific agonists and antagonists showed that the down-regulation of IL-27 was mediated via H(2)R and H(4)R but not H(1)R and H(3)R. Human KCs treated with supernatants of histamine-prestimulated monocytes induced significantly less CXCL10 than supernatants containing high levels of IL-27. DCs from H(4)R(-/-) mice responded to TLR simulation with higher IL-27 production as compared with WT mice. The down-regulation of IL-27 by histamine might be a new mechanism in the pathogenesis of inflammatory skin diseases, in particular, if increased concentrations of histamine are present at sites of inflammation, such as in chronic eczema and psoriasis.