Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 12, 2026

Basophil Activation Test for Investigation of IgE-Mediated Mechanisms in Drug Hypersensitivity
Published on: September 16, 2011
Basophil histamine release by platelet-activating factor in aspirin-sensitive subjects with asthma
Y Okuda1, H Hattori, T Takashima
1Osaka Prefectural Habikino Hospital, Japan.
Abstract:
Histamine release induced by platelet-activating factor (PAF) from leukocytes of aspirin-sensitive subjects with asthma was higher than that from normal control subjects, despite the similarity of anti-IgE-induced histamine release. Moreover, basophils of some aspirin-sensitive subjects with asthma released histamine by PAF stimulation in the absence of cytochalasin B that affects histamine release and is required in PAF-induced histamine release from leukocytes of atopic subjects with asthma and normal control subjects. In addition to temperature dependency and inhibition by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid reported previously, PAF-induced histamine release was enhanced by cytochalasin B and indomethacin and inhibited by dexamethasone. These features are common with IgE-mediated histamine release and suggest the existence of the common pathway to PAF-induced histamine release and IgE-mediated histamine release. The results in the present study indicate the pathophysiologic significance of PAF-induced histamine release and that activation of basophils by PAF may be relevant to the pathogenesis in some aspirin-sensitive subjects with asthma.
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