Histamine-producing bacteria and their role in gastrointestinal disorders

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Gut microbiota produces thousands of metabolites, which have a huge impact on the host health. Specific microbial strains are able to synthesize histamine, a molecule with a crucial role in many physiologic and pathologic mechanisms of the host. This function is mediated by the histidine decarboxylase enzyme (HDC) that converts the amino acid histidine to histamine.

Areas covered

This review summarizes the emerging data on histamine production by gut microbiota, and the effect of bacterial-derived histamine in different clinical contexts, including cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, and other gastrointestinal and extraintestinal pathologies. This review will also outline the impact of histamine on the immune system and the effect of probiotics that can secrete histamine. Search methodology: we searched the literature on PubMed up to February 2023.

Expert opinion

The potential of modulating gut microbiota to influence histamine production is a promising area of research, and although our knowledge of histamine-secreting bacteria is still limited, recent advances are exploring their diagnostic and therapeutical potential. Diet, probiotics, and pharmacological treatments directed to the modulation of histamine-secreting bacteria may in the future potentially be employed in the prevention and management of several gastrointestinal and extraintestinal disorders.

KEYWORDS:

• Microbiota
• histamine
• immune system
• probiotics
• irritable bowel syndrome
• cancer

Article highlights

• Histamine production by gut microbiota is an expanding field of research.

• Histamine-secreting bacteria have been associated with the pathogenesis of multiple gastrointestinal and extraintestinal diseases.

• The modulation of gut microbiota to influence histamine production may have a relevant therapeutic potential.

Declaration of interest

A Gasbarrini reports personal fees for consultancy from Eisai Srl, 3PSolutions, Real Time Meeting, Fondazione Istituto Danone, SinergieSrl, Board MRGE and Sanofi SpA, personal fees for acting as a speaker for Takeda SpA, AbbVie and Sandoz SpA and personal fees for acting on advisory boards for VSL3 and Eisai. Giovanni Cammarota has received personal fees for acting as advisor for Ferring Therapeutics. Gianluca Ianiro has received personal fees for acting as speaker for Biocodex, Danone, Sofar, Malesci, Metagenics and Tillotts Pharma, and for acting as consultant and/or advisor for Ferring Therapeutics, Giuliani, Malesci and Tillotts Pharma. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Linea D-1 of the Catholic University of Rome and by the Ricerca Finalizzata Giovani Ricercatori 2018 of the Italian Ministry of Health (project GR-2018-12365734) to G.I. and by the BIOMIS grant of the Italian Ministry of Research to A.G., G.C., and G.I. A.G., G.C., and G.I. thank the Fondazione Roma for the invaluable support to their scientific research. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection analysis, the decision to publish, or the preparation of the manuscript.