Effects of histamine and antihistamines on the kinetics of carbon dioxide in the rat.

We have investigated the effects of chlorpheniramine (an H1 histamine inhibitor) and metiamide (an H2 inhibitor) on response to 14C pulse-labeling of carbon dioxide in the rat in the presence and absence of histamine. Neither chlorpheniramine nor metiamide alone had any effect upon the gastric venous/arterial ratio (VG/A) or the peripheral venous/arterial ratio (Vp/A). As in the case with no drug present, Vp/A rose with time following pulse-labeling to a value of 1.15-1.20. The presence of a preexisting steady-state infusion of histamine caused no changes in the ratios in the presence or absence of the inhibitors. The inhibitors did completely abolish the oscillations of both VG/A and Vp/A caused by initiation of histamine infusion coincident with the pulse-labeling. The results suggest that the histamine effects are largely mediated through H1 receptors.