Abstract
Abstract
The tissue concentrations of the imidazole-containing compounds, anserine, carnosine, and free histidine, were determined in male chickens and rats suffering from acute or chronic infections. Either type of infection resulted in a decrease in tissue carnosine concentration. The tissue anserine concentration was unaltered by either the acute or the chronic infection. The tissue free-histidine concentration increased significantly during chronic infections, but remained unaffected during the acute infections. These results were consistent with the hypothesis that carnosine acts as a tissue reservoir for histidine, ultimately serving, when called upon by the stress of an infection, as a precursor of histamine.
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