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Basophil Activation Test for Allergy Diagnosis
Published on: May 31, 2021
Evaluation of CCR3 as a basophil activation marker
Aaruni Khanolkar1, Steven J Burden, Benjamin Hansen
1Department of Pathology, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. AKhanolkar@luriechildrens.org
American Journal of Clinical Pathology
|August 20, 2013
Summary
CCR3 expression on basophils is not a reliable indicator of activation in chronic urticaria patients. While CCR3 is downregulated with histamine release, its specificity is low, limiting diagnostic use.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Allergy Research
Background:
- Conflicting evidence exists regarding the stability of CCR3 expression on basophils.
- CCR3 is investigated as a potential marker for basophil activation and function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To independently evaluate the diagnostic utility of CCR3 as a surrogate marker for basophil activation.
- To assess the reliability of CCR3 expression in identifying histamine-releasing activated basophils.
Main Methods:
- Examined the correlation between CCR3 expression and histamine release in basophils.
- Used agonistic antibodies against IgE-Fc receptors and serum from 80 chronic urticaria (CU) patients.
- Assessed histamine-releasing activity (HRA) scores.
Main Results:
- CCR3 was significantly downregulated on basophils treated with agonistic antibodies and CU patient serum with HRA scores >10.
- CCR3 downregulation also occurred with HRA scores ≤10 in over 40% of CU patient serum samples.
- Observed adequate sensitivity (83%) but weak specificity (59%) for CCR3.
Conclusions:
- CCR3 demonstrates sufficient sensitivity but poor specificity for identifying histamine-releasing activated basophils.
- The diagnostic usefulness of CCR3 as a reliable marker for basophil activation in CU is limited.
