title: Newly discovered roles for basophils: a neglected minority gains new respect.
abstract: Basophils are the least common type of granulocyte and they account for less than 1% of peripheral blood leukocytes. Because of this minority status and a phenotype that is similar to mast cells, basophils have often been neglected in immunological studies or considered to have minor, redundant roles in immune responses in vivo. However, recent studies have now defined previously unrecognized roles for basophils in both immune regulation and allergic responses, and have shown that basophils and mast cells have distinct roles in immune responses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immune Regulation, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Graduate School, 1-5-45 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8519, Japan. karasuyama.mbch@tmd.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karasuyama
authors.forename: Kaori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mukai
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsujimura
authors.forename: Kazushige
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Obata
mesh_terms: D000707:Anaphylaxis / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D001491:Basophils / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000276:immunology; D006636:Histamine Release; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000276:immunology; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D017997:Leukotriene C4 / Q000378:metabolism; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D017997:Leukotriene C4; D007073:Immunoglobulin E