Functional analysis of histamine release from basophils and mast cells in subjects with the Ile-181→Leu variant of FcεRI-β

Abstract

1. Atopy is a genetically heterogeneous disorder; but there is now strong evidence that one important locus is on chromosome 11q13. FcεRI-β at that location has been identified as a candidate gene and variants have been associated with atopy in population studies. 2. No information is available on the functional consequences of any of these variants, and defining this may prove difficult because of the complexity of the atopy phenotype and because FcεRIβ is expressed on a range of cells with different functions, including basophils, mast cells, eosinophils and antigen-presenting Langerhan's cells. 3. We have conducted a qualitative study of mast cell and basophil histamine release in nine at..