REVISITING THE BASOPHIL DEGRANULATION TEST

A permanent cell line expressing a functional receptor (FcepsilonR1) f or human immunoglobulin E (hIgE) has been established by transfecting the halpha subunit of the receptor into the rat basophilic cell line R BL-2H3. We explore some of the characteristics and potential uses of t he line and show that cells primed with hIgE, or serum from a bee-veno m-sensitive individual, degranulate in response to cognate antigen. Ex ocytosis was evaluated by measuring the percent release of either prel oaded tritiated 5-hydroxytryptamine ([H-3] 5HT) or endogenous beta-hex osaminidase. This engineered cell line can be used to study allergic s ensitization in situ and offers an attractive alternative to the passi ve cutaneous anaphylaxis test.