The Immune System
4. IgE, mast cells, basophils, and eosinophils

https://doi.org/10.1067/mai.2003.120Get rights and content

Abstract

IgE, mast cells, basophils, and eosinophils constitute essential elements in allergic inflammation. Allergen-specific IgE, synthesized in response to allergens in the environment and in susceptible individuals, becomes fixed to high-affinity receptors on cellular membranes, especially of mast cells and basophils. If these receptor-bound IgE molecules are aggregated on reexposure to specific allergen, these mast cells and basophils produce mediators that result in the allergic response. Principal among the cells drawn to sites of mediator release is the eosinophil. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2003;111:S486-94.)

Section snippets

IGE

IgE (immunoglobulin E) reaginic antibody has an approximate molecular weight of 190 kd, shows no transplacental transfer, and, unlike other immunoglobulins, does not activate complement by the classic pathway. IgE is thermolabile and will not sensitize after it has been heated to 56°C for several hours. IgE is principally known for its ability to bind with high-affinity to its specific receptor (R) FcϵRI, found in its complete form (αβγ2) on the membranes of mast cells and basophils.1

The

Mast cells

The mast cell is a tissue-based inflammatory cell of bone marrow origin that responds to danger signals of innate and acquired immunity with immediate and delayed release of inflammatory mediators.12 Mast cells have long been implicated in the pathology and mortality of anaphylaxis and other allergic disorders by virtue of their ability to be activated through FcϵRI-bound antigen-specific IgE and their concentration at surfaces that interface with the external environment.

The human mast cell is

Basophils

Basophils are granulocytes that are believed to represent a separate lineage from mast cells, despite the fact that the two cell types share many common features, such as high-affinity IgE receptor (FcϵRI) expression, metachromatic staining, TH2 cytokine expression, and histamine release. Basophils represent less than 1% of peripheral blood leukocytes, making them one of the least common cell lineages found in the peripheral blood. Peripheral blood basophil numbers are modestly elevated

Eosinophils

Eosinophils are granulocytes that were first described to stain with acid aniline dyes, such as eosin. Although these cells are rare in the peripheral blood of healthy persons, blood and tissue eosinophilia are hallmark signs of helminth infection, allergy, and asthma. Because of the large body of evidence supporting a critical role in asthma pathogenesis, the eosinophil has emerged as a major therapeutic target for immunologically based asthma therapies.42, 43, 44

References (57)

  • KV Rao et al.

    Cloning and characterization of a calcium-binding, histamine-releasing protein from Schistosoma mansoni

    J Biol Chem

    (2002)
  • KT Nouri-Aria et al.

    Basophil recruitment and IL-4 production during human asthmatic allergen-induced late asthma

    J Allergy Clin Immunol

    (2001)
  • G Devouassoux et al.

    Frequency and characterization of antigen-specific IL-4- and IL-13-producing basophils and T cells in peripheral blood of healthy and asthmatic subjects

    J Allergy Clin Immunol

    (1999)
  • S Luccioli et al.

    IgE+ Kit I-A/I-E myeloid cells are the initial source of IL-4 following antigen challenge in a mouse model of allergic pulmonary inflammation

    J Allergy Clin Immunol

    (2002)
  • AJ Macfarlane et al.

    Basophils, eosinophils, and mast cells in atopic and nonatopic asthma and in late-phase allergic reactions in the lung and skin

    J Allergy Clin Immunol

    (2000)
  • GJ Gleich

    Mechanisms of eosinophil-associated inflammation

    J Allergy Clin Immunol

    (2000)
  • MJ Leckie et al.

    Effects of an interleukin-5 blocking monoclonal antibody on eosinophils, airway hyper-responsiveness, and the late asthmatic response

    Lancet

    (2000)
  • NA Lee et al.

    Pulmonary T cells and eosinophils: coconspirators or independent triggers of allergic respiratory pathology?

    J Allergy Clin Immunol

    (2001)
  • C Bandeira-Melo et al.

    The cellular biology of eosinophil eicosanoid formation and function

    J Allergy Clin Immunol

    (2002)
  • N Krug et al.

    A flow cytometric method for the detection of intracellular basic proteins in unseparated peripheral blood and bone marrow eosinophils

    J Immunol Methods

    (1996)
  • JA Denburg et al.

    Systemic aspects of allergic disease: bone marrow responses

    J Allergy Clin Immunol

    (2000)
  • EN Meeusen et al.

    Do eosinophils have a role in the killing of helminth parasites?

    Parasitol Today

    (2000)
  • RG Hamilton

    Assessment of human allergic disease

  • DR Ownby

    Clinical significance of immunoglobulin E

  • D Verelli

    The regulation of IgE synthesis

    Clin Allergy Immunol

    (2002)
  • HC Oettgen et al.

    IgE regulation and roles in asthma pathogenesis

    J Allergy Clin Immunol

    (2001)
  • HJ Gould et al.

    IgE isotype determination: ϵ-germline gene transcription, DNA recombination and B-cell differentiation

    Br Med Bull

    (2000)
  • CN Adra et al.

    Variants of B cell lymphoma 6 (RCL6) and marked atopy

    Clin Genet

    (1998)
  • Cited by (280)

    • Immunotoxicity Biomarkers

      2019, Biomarkers in Toxicology
    View all citing articles on Scopus

    Reprint requests: Dean D. Metcalfe, MD, NIH/NIAID/LAD, Building 10, Room 11C205, 10 Center Dr, MSC 1881, Bethesda, MD 20892-1881.

    View full text