Histamine regulation of hyperplastic and neoplastic cell growth in cholangiocytes.

Histamine has long been known to be involved in inflammatory events. The discovery of antihistamines dates back to the first half of the 20(th) century when a Swiss-Italian pharmacologist, Daniel Bovet began his work. In 1957 he was awarded a Nobel Prize for his production of antihistamines for allergy relief. Since that time, histamine has been found to play a role in other events besides allergic reaction. Possibly unbelievable to Bovet and his peers, histamine has now been marked as playing a role in liver pathologies including hepatobiliary diseases.