Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 14, 2026

Symptom Assessment of Patients with Allergic Rhinitis Using an Allergen Exposure Chamber
Published on: March 3, 2023
Changes in basophil activation during immunotherapy with house dust mite and mugwort in patients with allergic
Sae-Hoon Kim1,2,3, Soon-Hee Kim4, Soo-Jie Chung1,2
1Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea.
Background:
The basophil activation test (BAT) is a promising tool for monitoring allergen-specific immunotherapy responses.
Objective:
We aimed to investigate the changes in basophil activation in response to the inhalant allergens of house dust mite (HDM) and mugwort pollen during immunotherapy in patients with allergic rhinitis.
Methods:
We enrolled patients with allergic rhinitis who were to receive subcutaneous immunotherapy for the inhalant allergens HDM or mugwort. A BAT was performed to assess CD63 upregulation in response to allergen stimulation using peripheral blood collected from the patients prior to immunotherapy and at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after beginning immunotherapy. Rhinitis symptoms were evaluated using the rhinitis quality of life questionnaire (RQLQ) at 1-year intervals.
Results:
Seventeen patients (10 with HDM sensitivity, 3 with mugwort sensitivity, and 4 with sensitivity to both HDM and mugwort) were enrolled in the study. Basophil reactivity to HDM did not change significantly during 24 months of immunotherapy. However, a significant reduction in basophil reactivity to mugwort was observed at 24-month follow-up. There was no significant association between the change in clinical symptoms by RQLQ and the change in basophil reactivity to either allergen. The change in allergen-specific basophil reactivity to HDM was well correlated with the change in nonspecific basophil activation induced by anti-FcεRI antibody, although basophil reactivity to anti-FcεRI antibody was not significantly reduced during immunotherapy.
Conclusion:
Suppression of CD63 upregulation in the BAT was only observed with mugwort at 2-year follow-up. However, the basophil response did not reflect the clinical response to immunotherapy.
Related Concept Videos
Allergic Reactions
Tumor Immunotherapy
Allergic Reactions: Anaphylaxis
Allergic Drug Reactions
Drug Toxicity: Allergic Reactions
Patient-centered Care

