Histamine mediates food intake, but not muscle adaptations, following 10 weeks of resistance training in humans

ABSTRACT: Histamine receptor antagonists, commonly used to treat allergies, block histamine signalling and have been shown to impair acute and chronic adaptations to high-intensity and endurance-type exercise. Since it remains unclear whether this is a universal mechanism of muscle adaptation, this study investigated the effect of histamine receptor blockade on resistance training adaptations. Eighteen men performed 10 weeks of resistance training with either a placebo (n=9) or H1 receptor antihistamine (n=9, 180mg fexofenadine) intake before each training session. Outcomes assessed before and after the intervention included maximal strength (1RM), muscle volume (MRI), fat mass (skinfolds), fat free mass, whole-body glucose tolerance (OGTT), vascular function, dietary intake (self-reported food diaries) and muscle proteome remodelling. Both the placebo and antihistamine groups showed similar increases in muscle volume (+7% and +8%) and maximal strength (+14% and +20%) and reductions in diastolic blood pressure (-6 and -5 mmHg), total glucose level (-24% and -10%) and total insulin level (-10% and -9%) during the OGTT. Unexpectedly, the blockade group gained fat mass (+0.6 kg), while the placebo group did not (-0.3 kg), which could be related to increased dietary carbohydrate intake in the blockade, but not the placebo group (+29% vs -7%). In conclusion, histamine blockade did not impair resistance training-induced adaptations, suggesting that intercellular H1-histaminergic crosstalk is not a universal mechanism across training modalities. However, antihistamine intake led to increased habitual food intake and fat mass following 10 weeks of resistance training, possibly linked to a role of histamine in appetite regulation.

INSTRUMENT(S):

ORGANISM(S): Homo Sapiens (human)

TISSUE(S): Skeletal Muscle

SUBMITTER: Roger Moreno Justicia  

LAB HEAD: Atul Deshmukh

PROVIDER: PXD064353 | Pride | 2026-03-04

REPOSITORIES: Pride