Cord blood basophil releasability: a predictive marker for allergy?

Liberation of histamine and LTC4 by cord-blood basophils was measured in the newborn from healthy and atopic parents. The cord-blood basophils of the second classification produced more histamine than those from the first, after challenge with anti-IgE. Thus, a newborn from atopic parent(s) probably carries more fixed IgE on the basophils than a newborn from healthy parents and so the capacity of cord-blood basophils to liberate mediators may be a good marker of allergy.