Histamine 4 Receptor Promotes Osteoclastogenesis in RA

These results suggest that the H4R could be an excellent drug target to decrease the joint damage associated with RA. Unfortunately, clinical trials with the first H4R antagonist, toreforant, ended poorly. Investigators tested toreforant for its ability to treat RA, but they had to terminate the trial prematurely due to the fatal adverse effect of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.²

Lara C. Pullen, PhD, is a medical writer based in the Chicago area.

Reference

1. Kim KW, Kim BM, Lee KA, et al. Histamine and histamine H4 receptor promotes osteoclastogenesis in rheumatoid arthritis. Sci Rep. 2017 Apr 26;7(1):1197. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-01101-y.
2. Thurmond RL, Greenspan A, Radziszewski W, et al. Toreforant, a histamine H4 receptor antagonist, in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis despite methotrexate therapy: Results of 2 phase 2 studies. J Rheumatol. 2016 Sep;43(9):1637–1642. doi: 10.3899/jrheum.160164. Epub 2016 Jul 15.