Histamine H1-receptor of vascular endothelial cells cultured from guinea pig skin.

In this study, a new procedure for the cultivation of dermal vascular endothelial cells from guinea pig ear lobe was established, and specific binding of [3H]mepyramine to the cultured cell membranes was demonstrated. The vascular endothelial cells were successfully isolated from the dermis of guinea pig ear lobes by the intravenous injection of dispase. Guinea pig serum, as a supplementary component in culture medium, is more suitable for the culture of guinea pig dermal vascular endothelial cell than is fetal calf serum. The [3H]mepyramine binding study indicated the presence of a large number of H1-receptors on the membrane of dermal vascular endothelial cells of guinea pigs, suggesting the important role of endothelial cells in cutaneous reactions to histamine.