Booki Min
1
Basophils, the least abundant granulocytes, have poorly understood functions.
They have been linked to the development of T helper type 2 immunity during
parasite infection and allergic inflammation. Emerging evidence has not only
shown the critical involvement of basophils in the development of T helper type
2 immunity but also provided useful animal models with which basophil functions
can be further examined. However, distinctions must be made between what
basophils 'can do' after
in vitro manipulation and what they 'actually
do' during
in vivo immune responses; these may be very different. In this
review, the functions of basophils determined on the basis of analysis of
in
vitro and
in vivo systems and their potential involvement in clinical
settings are discussed.
1.Department of Immunology, Lerner Research Institute, The Cleveland Clinic
Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA.
Correspondence to: Booki Min1