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Updated: Aug 17, 2026
Basophil Activation Test for Investigation of IgE-Mediated Mechanisms in Drug Hypersensitivity
Published on: September 16, 2011
The frequency of phospholipase A2 binding of basophilic granulocytes does not decrease during bee-venom-specific
1Department of Genetics, University of Cologne, Germany.
Background:
The major allergenic component of bee venom is phospholipase A2 (PLA2).
Methods:
In this study, PLA2 was used to analyze and enrich PLA2-binding cells from peripheral blood by high gradient magnetic cell sorting.
Results:
In normal donors, the frequency of allergen (PLA2)-binding cells among peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) as determined by flow cytometry is below 0.1%, whereas in bee-venom-allergic patients, PLA2-binding cells are readily detectable at frequencies of up to 2.3%. In severely bee-venom-allergic patients, many basophilic granulocytes are present, as defined by anti-CD9, CD25, and CD38 mAb, comprising up to 95% of the PLA2-binding cells. From blood of allergic and normal donors, about equal absolute numbers of allergen-binding CD19/21-positive B cells can be enriched. Severe anaphylactic reactions (Mueller grade IV) and failure of or adverse reactions during immunotherapy are associated with high numbers of circulating allergen-binding basophils. Interestingly, in the patients studied, the number of PLA2-binding basophilic granulocytes did not markedly change during rush immunotherapy and up to 6 months of maintenance immunotherapy.
Conclusions:
The specific and reproducible enrichment of PLA2-binding cells provides a new tool for the analysis and monitoring of effector cells in bee-venom-allergic patients with immediate-type hypersensitivity.
