title: Basophils as APC in Th2 response in allergic inflammation and parasite infection.
abstract: Basophils are important effector cells, which contribute to protection against helminths and execute proinflammatory effector function during allergic inflammation. Basophils are also regulators of Th2 responses in helminth-infected hosts and in allergen-injected animals. Recently, three groups using different experimental systems have shown that basophils are antigen-presenting cells (APC), which induce Th2 cells both in vitro and in vivo. Basophils express MHC class II and CD80/86, have the potential to take-up and process protein antigen (Ag), particularly Ag-IgE complexes, and to present peptide with MHC class II and produce IL-4. However, relevance of basophils as Th2 cell-inducing APC in vivo has been challenged by several recent reports that favor the concept that basophils and DC cooperate or basophils merely amplify DC-driven Th2 cell differentiation. In this review, I summarize and discuss the data on the role of basophils as Th2 cell-inducing APC in allergy and parasite infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Medical Zoology, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 663-8501, Japan. nakaken@hyo-med.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakanishi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D001491:Basophils / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology*; D010272:Parasitic Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology*