Semi-purification of the immunoglobulin E-sweat antigen acting on mast cells and basophils in atopic dermatitis

Sweating aggravates the symptoms of atopic dermatitis (AD). We have recently reported positive skin reactions and histamine release from basophils in response to autologous sweat in patients with AD.

To characterize the biochemical and immunological properties of the substance in sweat that evokes histamine release and to study the usability of the basophil-histamine release test with the sweat antigen for AD.

Sweat collected from healthy volunteers was purified using chromatographies. Serum immunoglobulin (Ig)E of four patients with AD were purified using an affinity-chromatography column with anti-IgE antibodies. The amount of semi-purified sweat antigen (138 ng protein/ml) that induced a half-maximum reaction of basophils of a patient with AD was utilized for the basophil histamine release test. The involvement of specific IgE and high-affinity IgE receptor (FcepsilonRI) in the reactions was examined using basophils of healthy volunteers, a human mast cell line (LAD2), and a rat basophilic leukemia cell line transfected with human alpha-subunit of FcepsilonRI (RBL-48).

The semi-purified sweat antigen induced histamine release from the basophils of 47 of 61 (74.6%) patients with AD and four of 46 (8.7%) healthy controls. Both basophils and mast cells sensitized with the patient-derived IgE showed degranulation upon stimulation with the sweat antigen. However, no reaction was observed when cells were sensitized with myeloma IgE or the antigen was treated with proteases.

The semi-purified standardized sweat antigen consists of a protein that induces degranulation of basophils and mast cells via antigen-specific IgE and FcepsilonRI in patients with AD.