The paper
C. Ohnmacht et al., “Basophils orchestrate chronic allergic dermatitis and protective immunity against helminths,” Immunity, 33:364-74, 2010.
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The finding
Basophils were deemed critical in allergic response and parasite removal, but their precise role has been controversial. David Vöhringer, now at Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, found that basophils are not involved in the primary response against infection with parasitic worms (helminths), as researchers assumed, but rather play a role in immunological memory.
The lucky break
Type 2 helper T cells (Th2) cells secrete IL-4, which promotes B-cell production of antibodies essential for the removal of helminths. Basophils also release IL-4, so Vöhringer wondered if basophils might act coordinately with Th2 cells. He started by trying to conditionally remove a protease that was specific to basophils. Luckily, the engineered mice were unable to make basophils at all, thus providing the researchers with a model for studying basophil immunology.
The ...
