Cells and secretagogues involved in the human late-phase response

Those scientists interested in allergic inflammatory processes have recently been focusing on the late-phase response, since it appears most similar to the chronic disease states observed in allergic patients. In this review we will focus on the pattern of mediator release and cellular traffic observed in two in vivo human models of the late-phase reaction, one involving the upper airways and the other the skin. We have observed in these models, as had been observed earlier in blood, that the late-phase reaction is associated with a second increase in the level of mediators. We also describe our studies of the secretagogues responsible for this late-phase mediator release and, in so doing, introduce the subjects of histamine-releasing factors and IgE heterogeneity.