Basophils in human disease.

Hypersensitivity reactions containing significant infiltrates of basophils occur in a large proportion of allergic diseases such as contact dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, and allergic rhinitis, and are quite deleterious. However, the potential usefulness of such responses can be recognized in similar reactions in guinea pigs responding to tissue invasion by complex multicellular parasites in which interactions occur between thymic-derived T lymphocytes, antibodies, and basophils in immune resistance responses. Perhaps inappropriate and deleterious allergic responses to pollens, chemicals, and insects is the price that we must pay for the ability to reject complex parasites.