Reactivity of human basophils to anti-IgE and protein A in atopic dermatitis.

We compared by basophil degranulation and histamine release the reactivity to protein A and anti-IgE of the basophils from 3 groups of patients: group I (blood donors), group II (rhinitis) and group III (atopic dermatitis). We demonstrated that histamine release and basophil degranulation gave tightly correlated results and that by both methods group III was significantly (p less than 0.01) more sensitive to the effectors than the two other groups. Protein A and anti-IgE stimulation curves showed a rebound effect at low concentrations of effectors. This was, however, only significant (p less than 0.01) for group III. Bacterial hypersensitivity may be IgE-mediated and may be related to the increased sensitivity to bacterial antigens and the severity of atopic dermatitis in patients infected by Staphylococcus aureus.