title: Regulation of type 2 immunity by basophils.
abstract: The immune response against helminths and allergens is generally characterized by high levels of IgE and increased numbers of Th2 cells, eosinophils, and basophils. Basophils represent a relatively rare population of effector cells and their in vivo functions are incompletely understood. Recent studies with basophil-depleting antibodies revealed that these cells might play an important role during the early and late stages of type 2 immune responses. To further characterize the relevance of basophils for protective immunity and orchestration of allergic inflammation, we generated constitutively basophil-deficient mice. We observed a normal Th2 response induced by helminth infections or immunization with alum/OVA or papain/OVA. However, basophils contributed to worm expulsion during secondary helminth infection and mediated an IgE-dependent inflammatory response of the skin. These results argue against a critical role of basophils as antigen-presenting cells for induction of Th2 polarization and highlight their effector cell potential during later stages of a type 2 immune response.
authors: Department of Infection biology, Universitätsklinikum Erlangen and Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany. david.voehringer@uk-erlangen.de
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Voehringer
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D001491:Basophils / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D006373:Helminthiasis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology; D007249:Inflammation; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D010047:Ovalbumin