BACKGROUND Naturally occurring IgE-specific IgG autoantibodies have been identified in patients with asthma and other diseases, but their spectrum of functions is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE Address the hypothesis that: (i) IgG anti-IgE autoantibodies are detectable in the serum of all subjects but elevated in asthmatic patients regardless of atopic status as compared with controls; (ii) som...

IgE is a highly elusive antibody class, yet a tremendously powerful elicitor of immune reactions. Despite huge efforts spent on the characterization and understanding of the IgE system many questions remain either unanswered or only marginally addressed. One above all relates to the role of IgE. A common doubt is based on whether IgE mode of action should only be relegated to anti-parasite immu...

CD23, the low-affinity receptor for IgE, exists in membrane and soluble forms. Soluble CD23 (sCD23) fragments are released from membrane (m)CD23 by the endogenous metalloprotease a disintegrin and metalloprotease 10. When purified tonsil B cells are incubated with IL-4 and anti-CD40 to induce class switching to IgE in vitro, mCD23 is upregulated, and sCD23 accumulates in the medium prior to IgE...

BACKGROUND Staphylococcus aureus may modify airway disease by inducing local formation of polyclonal IgE antibodies (abs), the role of which is unknown. METHODS Nasal mucosal tissue and serum was obtained from 12 allergic rhinitis (AR) and 14 nasal polyp (NP) subjects. Skin prick tests were performed, and total and specific IgE abs to inhalant allergens and enterotoxin B were determined in se...

BACKGROUND Correct diagnosis of immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated disease is the prerequisite for secondary allergy prevention during early childhood. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of a new blood test, Phadiatop Infant, in detecting IgE sensitisation to food and inhalant allergens among children at 2 years of age. METHODS Children (n = 239) were followed prospectively from bir...

Higher levels of IgE-containing immune complexes (IC) have been reported in sera from patients with allergic diseases than in sera from controls. To evaluate the possibility of an IC-mediated mechanism in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma, we measured circulating C3-containing IgE IC (C3-IgE IC) using anti-C3 ELISA from 20 house dust mite (HDM)-sensitive asthmatics, 20 non-atopic asthmatics,...

BACKGROUND Measurement of total serum IgE and allergen specific IgE is often requested to assess possible allergy. As public awareness increases, so do requests for allergy assessment; unless there is a clear "allergen suspect" in the history, several allergen specific IgE requests may be made. This increases the likelihood of detecting borderline increases in allergen specific IgE of uncertain...

Several studies have shown that the presence of IgE antibodies to house dust mites (HDM), particularly Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dpt), is an important risk factor for asthma. Allergen immunotherapy is indicated for patients with IgE antibodies to clinically relevant allergens. The aims of this study were to analyze the levels of specific serum IgE to Der p 1 and Der p 2 allergens in mite-...

Immunoglobulin ε (IgE) antibodies are the primary mediators of allergic diseases, which affect more than 1 in 10 individuals worldwide. IgE specific for innocuous environmental antigens, or allergens, binds and sensitizes tissue-resident mast cells expressing the high-affinity IgE receptor, FcεRI. Subsequent allergen exposure cross-links mast cell-bound IgE, resulting in the release of inflamma...

We have previously shown that adult A/J mice produce high titers of anti-IgE with isotypic or idiotypic specificities in response to challenge with a conjugate of KLH with syngeneic monoclonal IgE. Thus, B cells that can synthesize anti-IgE are present in the mice. Adult mice are unresponsive to unconjugated IgE in CFA, suggesting that tolerance exists at the level of T cells. The present study...