Histamine-induced, central nervous system-mediated hyperglycemia is suppressed by atropine in the brain.

We investigated the relationship between histamine and muscarinic cholinergic neurons in central nervous system (CNS)-mediated glucose regulation in anesthetized fed rats. The injection of pyrilamine (5 x 10(-7) mol) into the third cerebral ventricle suppressed the hyperglycemia induced by intraventricular injection of histamine (5 x 10(-7) mol). Ranitidine (5 x 10(-7) mol), however, did not suppress this hyperglycemia. The injection of atropine (5 x 10(-9)-5 x 10(-7) mol) into the third cerebral ventricle suppressed the histamine-induced hyperglycemia in a dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that histamine induction of CNS-mediated hyperglycemia involves neuronal transmission not only via H1 receptors but also, at least in part, by muscarinic cholinergic neurons.