OBJECTIVE Autoantibody and inflammatory cytokines play crucial roles in the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); however, the regulation of their production warrants further investigation. This study aimed to investigate the role of basophil activation in the development of SLE based on studies in patients with SLE and spontaneous lupus-prone MRL-lpr/lpr mice. METHODS The phenot...

VER SINCE Paul Ehrlich’s discovery that granuleE laden cells (“mastzellen”) in the frog mesentery, originally observed by von Recklinghausen, possessed metachromatic staining properties,’” cells in the basophil and mast cell lineages have been the subject of much scrutiny. The description by dermatologists at the turn of the century of the condition known as urticaria pigmentosa, involving mast...

One hypothesis for the decreased rates of atopy observed among helminth-infected individuals is that parasite-induced polyclonal immunoglobulin E (IgE) out-competes allergen-specific IgE for FcepsilonRI binding on basophils and mast cells. In experiments with fresh blood drawn from filaria-infected patients, we found no association between ratios of polyclonal to Brugia malayi antigen (BmAg)-sp...

Basophils are thought to play pivotal roles in allergic inflammation through rapid release of chemical mediators in addition to sustained production of Th2 cytokines, including IL-4. A newly identified cytokine, IL-33, has been recognized as one of the key cytokines enhancing Th2-balanced immune regulation through its receptor, ST2. The present study was conducted to elucidate whether IL-33 act...

BACKGROUND Naturally occurring IgE-specific IgG autoantibodies have been identified in patients with asthma and other diseases, but their spectrum of functions is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE Address the hypothesis that: (i) IgG anti-IgE autoantibodies are detectable in the serum of all subjects but elevated in asthmatic patients regardless of atopic status as compared with controls; (ii) som...

As reported previously, and confirmed here in 26 donors, the serum IgE level (2.6-5,500 ng/ml) correlates well (rs = 0.95, P less than 0.001) with the in vivo number of IgE molecules/basophil (6,000-600,000). The total number of IgE receptors/basophil was monitored by incubating them with an IgE-rich serum (15 microgram/ml), quantitatively stripping IgE from the cells at pH 3.7, and measuring e...

BACKGROUND Sensitization to hazelnut (HN) is frequent and requires clarification to determine whether this sensitization is clinically relevant. The aim of this study was to investigate basophil activation profiles in HN-sensitized and allergic subjects. METHODS Basophil activation was determined by flow cytometric analyses of CD63 and CD203c expression using several HN allergen concentration...

We have examined human leukocyte preparations for the presence of surface-bound IgE by electron microscopy. Basophil-enriched leukocytes were reacted with burro anti-IgE, a hybrid antibody to burro IgG and ferritin, and ferritin, with or without prior incubation of the cells with an IgE myeloma protein. In the absence of preincubation with IgE small amounts of ferritin were fixed to the surface...

The oxidation process is one of the most important natural processes. Oxidative change in hypersensitivity is believed to be an important process in the pathogenesis. However, the clear explanation on the transmembrane flux change ofbasophil and its correlation to hypersensitivity pathogenesis has never been reported. Here, the author determines the transmembrane oxidation flux in basophil. The...

Basophil-derived IL-4 is involved in the alternative activation of mouse monocytes, as recently shown in vivo. Whether this applies to human basophils and monocytes has not been established yet. Here, we sought to characterise the interaction between basophils and monocytes and identify the molecular determinants. A basophil-monocyte co-culture model revealed that IL-3 and basophil-derived IL-4...