Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Oct 1;21(5):442-447.
doi: 10.1097/ACI.0000000000000774.

Basophil activation test in food allergy: is it ready for real-time?

Tarun Keswani  1 , Sarita U Patil  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Basophil activation test in food allergy: is it ready for real-time?

Tarun Keswani et al. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. .

Abstract

Purpose of review: Utilization of basophil activation in the diagnosis and monitoring of food allergy has gained increasing recognition. An ex-vivo functional assay, basophil activation reflects clinical reactivity, thereby providing clinically relevant insights. Moreover, as a biomarker of reactivity and tolerance, basophil activation testing (BAT) may provide a useful tool for management of food allergies. Despite its utility, significant limitations of BAT have prevented widespread use. Addressing these limitations will increase the future application and adoption of BAT in food allergy.

Recent findings: A number of clinical trials in the past few years have demonstrated the use of BAT in the diagnosis and treatment of food allergy. Specifically, BAT has been found to be a biomarker of tolerance.

Summary: Basophil activation testing is an effective biomarker for diagnosis and monitoring of food allergy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig 1.
Fig 1.. Clinical Utility of Basophil Activation Testing (BAT).
Peripheral blood obtained from patients is longitudinally monitored using BAT. Distinct parameters are monitored as predictors of reactivity and tolerance. Standardization of BAT promotes multicentric care and collaboration.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Shah H, Eisenbarth S, Tormey CA, Siddon AJ. Behind the scenes with basophils: an emerging therapeutic target. Immunotherapy Advances. 2021;1(1). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Christensen LH, Holm J, Lund G, Riise E, Lund K. Several distinct properties of the IgE repertoire determine effector cell degranulation in response to allergen challenge. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology. 2008;122(2):298–304. - PubMed
    1. Yanase Y, Matsuo Y, Kawaguchi T, Ishii K, Tanaka A, Iwamoto K, et al. Activation of Human Peripheral Basophils in Response to High IgE Antibody Concentrations without Antigens. Int J Mol Sci. 2018;20(1). - PMC - PubMed

    1. Patil SU, Steinbrecher J, Calatroni A, Smith N, Ma A, Ruiter B, et al. Early decrease in basophil sensitivity to Ara h 2 precedes sustained unresponsiveness after peanut oral immunotherapy. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology. 2019;144(5):1310–9.e4.

      ** Demonstrated BAT as a predictive biomarker of tolerance in oral immunotherapy.

    1. Santos AF, James LK, Kwok M, McKendry RT, Anagnostou K, Clark AT, et al. Peanut oral immunotherapy induces blocking antibodies but does not change the functional characteristics of peanut-specific IgE. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology. 2020;145(1):440–3 e5.

      ** Demonstrated the utility of BAT as a test of the induction of blocking antibodies in oral immunotherapy.

Publication types