What are the advantages of using histamine dihydrochloride together with immunotherapy?

Anna Martner, PhD, from the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, explains the advantages of using histamine dihydrochloride (HDC) together with immunotherapy at the International Symposium on Acute Leukemias (ISAL) 2017 in Munich, Germany. She explains that histamine type 2 receptors are expressed by mature myeloid cells, and binding of histamine inhibits their production of suppressive oxygen radicals. Radicals that are formed in the microenvironment inhibit natural killer (NK) cells and T-cells, which are important cytotoxic immune populations, and prevent their targeting of tumor cells. When radicals are eliminated, NK cells and T-cells show a better response to stimulating immunotherapy, such as with IL-2, which has been used in combination with histamine in several clinical trials.