Purified human peripheral blood basophils release interleukin‐13 and preformed interleukin‐4 following immunological activation

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Abstract
Recent studies have shown that human basophils, like mast cells, generate interleukin (IL)‐4 following immunological activation and may thus participate in late‐phase allergic and inflammatory processes. Here, we report the capacity of human basophils to release IL‐13 within 24 h following stimulation with anti‐IgE. Additionally, in 14 out of 31 experiments, we observed that basophils rapidly release preformed IL‐4 within 5–10 min, as well as newly generated IL‐4, which was released 4 h following stimulation of the cells with anti‐IgE. In contrast to the biphasic release of IL‐4 from the cells, no preformed IL‐13 was detected at earlier times (5–30 min). Preformed IL‐4 and IL‐4 and IL‐13 generated de novo were also released after stimulation of the cells with IL‐3; an enhanced production of these cytokines was observed using a combination of IL‐3 and anti‐IgE. We conclude from these data that, by releasing preformed IL‐4 and IL‐4 and IL‐13 generated de novo, human basophils may be centrally involved in the orchestration of allergic inflammation by providing a trigger to IL‐4‐mediated T helper 2 lymphocyte activation, B cell IgE switching, and increased vascular adhesion molecule expression.