Background: Histamine plays important biological roles in cell-to-cell communication; it is a mediator in allergic responses, a regulator of gastric acid secretion, a messenger in bronchial asthma, and a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Histamine acts by binding to histamine receptors, and its local action is terminated primarily by methylation. Human histamine N-methyltransferase (HNMT) has a common polymorphism at residue 105 that correlates with the high- (Thr) and low- (Ile) activity phenotypes. Results: Two ternary structures of human HNMT have been determined: the Thr105 variant complexed with its substrate histamine and reaction product AdoHcy and the Ile105 variant complexed with an inhibitor (quinacrine) and AdoHcy. Our steady-state kinetic data indicate that the recombinant Ile105 variant shows 1.8- and 1.3-fold increases in the apparent KM for AdoMet and histamine, respectively, and slightly (16%) but consistently lower specific activity as compared to that of the Thr105 variant. These differences hold over a temperature range of 25°C-45°C in vitro. Only at a temperature of 50°C or higher is the Ile105 variant more thermolabile than the Thr105 enzyme. Conclusions: HNMT has a 2 domain structure including a consensus AdoMet binding domain, where the residue 105 is located on the surface, consistent with the kinetic data that the polymorphism does not affect overall protein stability at physiological temperatures but lowers KM values for AdoMet and histamine. The interactions between HNMT and quinacrine provide the first structural insights into a large group of pharmacologic HNMT inhibitors and their mechanisms of inhibition.

The time course of macroscopic current responses of homomeric murine serotonin 5-HT3A receptors was studied in whole cells and excised membrane patches under voltage clamp in response to rapid application of serotonin. Serotonin activated whole cell currents with an EC50 value for the peak response of 2 μm and a Hill slope of 3.0 (n = 12), suggesting that the binding of at least three agonist molecules is required to open the channel. Homomeric 5-HT3A receptors in excised membrane patches had a slow activation time course (mean ±s.e.m. 10-90 % rise time 12.5 ± 1.6 ms; n = 9 patches) for 100 μm serotonin. The apparent activation rate was estimated by fitting an exponential function to the rising phase of responses to supramaximal serotonin to be 136 s−1. The 5-HT3A receptor response to 100 μm serotonin in outside-out patches (n = 19) and whole cells (n = 41) desensitized with a variable rate that accelerated throughout the experiment. The time course for desensitization was described by two exponential components (for patches τslow 1006 ± 139 ms, amplitude 31 % τfast 176 ± 25 ms, amplitude 69 %). Deactivation of the response following serotonin removal from excised membrane patches (n = 8) and whole cells (n = 29) was described by a dual exponential time course with time constants similar to those for desensitization (for patches τslow 838 ± 217 ms, 55 % amplitude; τfast 213 ± 44 ms, 45 % amplitude). In most patches (6 of 8), the deactivation time course in response to a brief 1-5 ms pulse of serotonin was similar to or slower than desensitization. This suggests that the continued presence of agonist can induce desensitization with a similar or more rapid time course than agonist unbinding. The difference between the time course for deactivation and desensitization was voltage independent over the range -100 to -40 mV in patches (n = 4) and -100 to +50 mV in whole cells (n = 4), suggesting desensitization of these receptors in the presence of serotonin does not reflect a voltage-dependent block of the channel by agonist. Simultaneously fitting the macroscopic 5-HT3A receptor responses in patches to submaximal (2 μm) and maximal (100 μm) concentrations of serotonin to a variety of state models suggests that homomeric 5-HT3A receptors require the binding of three agonists to open and possess a peak open probability greater than 0.8. Our modelling also suggests that channel open probability varies with the number of serotonin molecules bound to the receptor, with a reduced open probability for fully liganded receptors. Increasing the desensitization rate constants in this model can generate desensitization that is more rapid than deactivation, as observed in a subpopulation of our patches.

We examined the prevalence of tuberculosis (TB), rate of multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB, and characteristics of TB on a female general medicine ward in Peru. Of 250 patients, 40 (16%) were positive by sputum culture and 27 (11%) by smear, and 8 (3%) had MDRTB. Thirteen (33%) of 40 culture-positive patients had not been suspected of having TB on admission. Six (46%) of 13 patients whose TB was unsuspected on admission had MDRTB, compared with 2 (7%) of 27 suspected cases (p = 0.009). Five (63%) of 8 MDRTB patients were smear positive and therefore highly infective. In developing countries, hospital control, a simple method of reducing the spread of MDRTB, is neglected.