BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has been shown to generally decrease levels of innate immune markers and inflammatory cytokines, but the specific associations between blood levels of PUFAs and those of innate immune markers have not been investigated. Thus, the present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that innate immune markers as wel...

In recent years, the quantification of basophil activation by flow cytometry (basophil activation test, BAT) has proven to be a useful tool for the assessment of immediate-type responses to allergens mediated by IgE or other mechanisms in drug-allergic patients. To date, most BAT studies reported in the literature have used CD69 or CD203c as markers to quantify basophil activation after antigen...

These studies describe the IgE-mediated relase of a basophil kallikrein-like enzyme that is an arginine esterase and is inhibited by plasma, diisopropylphosphofluoridate, and Trasylol. The substrate specificity for the synthetic amino acid ester substrates p-toluenesulfonyl-L-arginien methyl ester, benzoyl-arginine methyl ester, and acetyl-tyrosine methyl ester is similar for the basophil enzym...

Apis mellifera L. bee venom is the most studied hymenoptera allergen, but many aspects of its action on human basophils remain unclear. Allergologists seek evidence of the effectiveness of bee venom immunotherapy as this approach is the chosen treatment for systemic allergic reactions. The effect of bee venom on human basophils in vitro has not been studied in detail for many reasons, including...

INTRODUCTION 'Gold standard' in the diagnosis of atopic disease are skin prick tests and specific IgE evaluation. Well-established in vitro tests, such as the histamine release test, the leukotriens release test and the flow cytometric basophil activation test can be very helpful in diagnostics, especially when the skin prick test is contraindicated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the us...

Basophilia is a frequently observed hematological abnormality in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), but its pathophysiological roles are undefined. We previously demonstrated that an inflammatory chemokine, CCL3, preferentially acts on normal hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells and crucially contributes to the maintenance of leukemia initiating cells (LICs) in bone marrow (BM) during the initiatio...

As outlined in some of the accompanying articles in this issue, the role of the basophil as an effector cell in allergy and in host defense (particularly to parasites) has long been recognized. However, recent advances advocate for the basophil as an immunomodulatory cell that can promote naïve CD4 + T cell commitment to Th2 cell differentiation. While this is in keeping with the concept that t...

BACKGROUND 2D7 and BB1 are thought to be basophil-specific markers. In this study, we tested both antibodies in different skin and mast cell disorders with the aim of determining whether it was possible to differentiate between benign and aggressive presentations of mastocytosis. METHODS Using the antibodies 2D7, BB1, and c-Kit, we performed an immunohistochemical study of skin biopsy specime...

The mechanism by which circulating human basophils adhere to vascular endothelium and migrate to sites of allergic reactions is unknown. Agents have been identified which stimulate the adherence of purified basophils to cultured human umbilical vein vascular endothelial cells (HuVEC). Treatment of HuVEC with interleukin 1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF), bacterial endotoxin, and 12-O-tetradecanoyl...