Peripheral blood basophils, basophil progenitors, and nasal metachromatic cells in allergic rhinitis

Relationships among mature blood basophils, blood basophil colony-forming units in culture (CFU-c), and nasal metachromatic cells (NMC) were investigated using hemopoietic and histochemical techniques in 29 patients with allergic rhinitis and in 7 nonatopic control subjects. Total blood granulocyte and basophil CFU-c were significantly elevated in atopy; the highest levels of basophil CFU-c were found in patients with low total NMC counts in nasal scrapings (Group I), compared with those with intermediate (Group II) or high (Group III) counts: 10 +/- 3 basophil CFU-c per 10(6) cells in 10 Group I patients, 4 +/- 2 in 10 Group II patients, 3 +/- 1 in 9 Group III patients, and 0.1 +/- 0.1 in nonatopic control subjects (p less than 0.05). Mean histamine content and frequency of histamine-positive granulocyte colonies correlated with counts of basophils in colonies (r = 0.864, p less than 0.001). Peripheral blood basophils, which stained metachromatically with toluidine blue at pH 0.5 after Mota's lead acetate but not after formalin fixation, were highest in atopic Group III and lowest in Group I; a similar relationship was observed only for NMC, which also failed to stain after formalin fixation. Metachromatic cells in colonies were similar to formalin-sensitive NMC and to peripheral blood basophils in their sensitivity to different fixatives. Nasal symptoms correlated inversely with the number of basophil CFU and directly with the number of either formalin-sensitive NMC or peripheral blood basophils. These findings confirm and extend evidence for increased nasal metachromatic cells, basophilia, and alterations in basophilopoiesis in atopy.