Introduction In clinical practice, reliable tools for monitoring specific immunotherapy (SIT) are of utmost importance. Aim To assess the usefulness of the basophil activation test (BAT) in monitoring SIT in paediatric patients with allergy to house dust mites (HDM). Material and methods Thirty-one children qualified for SIT with HDM, of whom 21 completed the SIT during the observation peri...

Dear Editor, Zehwan Kim et al, [1] presented a protocol to assay basophil activation by flow cytometry (FC) that included a phenotyping panel with CD123 and CD193 (CC chemokine receptor-3 [CCR3]). This method for the electronic capture of basophils in whole blood, never published before,raises some interesting questions. CCR3 (CD193), the eotaxin receptor, is commonly present in CD3-expressing ...

IgE-mediated mast cell activation is the trigger of anaphylaxis in humans, whereas it is known that not only IgE but also IgG can induce anaphylaxis in mice. In our preliminary experiments, the expression of a murine basophil identification marker, CD200R3, on antigen-sensitized basophils decreased following specific antigen challenge. Interestingly, this decrease did not always correspond with...

Abstract Ultraviolet B (UVB) light is a common environmental trigger that can induce flares in several autoimmune diseases, but the mechanisms mediate UVB-induced photosensitivity remain poorly understood. We used mice which express an autoimmune-driving isoform of Foxp3, called FoxP3 ΔE2mice, to develop model cutaneous photosensitivity. In steady-state, ΔE2mice have high serum titers IgE targe...

Processed antigen reacts selectively with lymphocytes bearing .appropriate surface immunoglobulin molecules resulting in the clonal proliferation of these cells, produc­ing circulating immunoglobulin (humoral immunity) or non-circulating immunoglobulins (cellular immunity).  High levels of circulating immunoglobulins (lgM & lgG) occur in protozoa and helminths infections. Reaginic antibodies a...

PURPOSE The basophil activation test (BAT) has been used to monitor venom immunotherapy (VIT) due to its high specificity. A previous study has reported a good correlation between a significant decrease in basophil activation during 5 years of VIT and clinical protection assessed by sting challenge. The following prospective study was performed to examine changes in basophil reactivity over a c...

The basophil activation test (BAT) has proven to be a useful tool for the diagnosis of IgE-mediated food allergy and the evaluation of clinical tolerance in food allergic patients. Until now, successful oral desensitization to food allergen has been correlated with changes in cytokine production (IL-4 and INF-g) and allergenspecific IgE and IgG4 antibodies. We report a case of a 12-year-old mal...