Histamine is a selective protector against cellular damage produced by ionizing radiation

V. MEDINA; G. CRICCO1; N. MOHAMAD; M. CROCI; M. NÚÑEZ; G. MARTÍN; C. COCCA; R. BERGOC; E. RIVERA

Inflammation Research

Año: 2005 vol. 54 p. 17 - 18

Radiotherapy alone or in combination with other therapies, is one of most widely used treatments for cancer. Ionizing radiation (IR) is toxic not only toward cancerous but also to healthy tissues, particularly those with high proliferation rate. This may result in serious adverse effects for patients. Pharmacological approaches to improve radiotherapy include use of radioprotectants (that reduce the detrimental effects of radiation on normal tissue) and radiosensitizers (which ideally enhance radiosensitivity of tumours). Currently, it has been clearly established that histamine (HA) elicits a significant growth inhibition in different human neoplasticcell lines. HA significantly increased radiosensitivity of MDAMB-231 cells but effect was not consistent in radioresistant WM35 line. This is the first report that demonstrates the capacity ofHA to selectively modulate cellular damage produced by IR and represents a potential clinical application in patients undergoing radiotherapy.