Katsuyoshi Saito

Appearance of basophils in the sputum of patients with bronchial asthma

A total of 108 samples of sputum obtained from twenty patients with bronchial asthma were examined for appearance of basophils and eosinophils. Both cell types are present in sputum during an asthmatic attack and disappear at the conclusion of the attack. Their presence correlates with the severity of the disease. It has previously been demonstrated that the blood basophils count falls during attacks of bronchial asthma, and the present study suggests that basophils move from the blood stream into bronchial tissue during the acute phase of an asthmatic attack.

Emergence of basophils at sites of local allergic reactions using a skin vesicle test

Vesicular exudate, produced by the application of cantharides plaster over normal skin and sites of intradermal allergen injection, was examined for the presence of basophils and eosinophils in normal subjects and patients with bronchial asthma. In comparison with the normals, the asthmatic group demonstrated a high rate of basophil appearance in vesicular fluid derived from areas of untreated skin. Basophil appearance was even more prominent in vesicular fluid from skin injected intradermally with various allergens. Modest numbers of basophils appeared at skin sites injected with house dust, but relatively large numbers appeared in areas injected with Candida, ragweed or tuberculin extracts. Patients with severe, intractable asthma frequently demonstrated large numbers of basophils in vesicular exudates. Intradermal injections of anti‐IgE caused the greatest number of basophils to appear in the vesicular fluid, The numbers of eosinophils migrating into such vesicular lesions were not statistically significant though their numbers were proportional to those of the basophils. A significant correlation was shown to exist between both basophil and eosinophil blood counts and the numbers of these cells appearing in cutaneous vesicular fluid.

Morphological changes of basophils in immunological reactions—effect of sodium cromoglycate

The morphological changes in blood basophils, from patients with bronchial asthma, were studied in vitro during immunological reactions, with particular reference to interaction with anti‐IgE. Anti‐human IgE results in an absolute reduction in basophil numbers in buffy coat preparations as well as basophil cytoplasmic degranulation. An increase in the numbers of pear‐shaped (A‐form) basophils is also observed. Sodium cromoglycate impairs all these anti‐IgE induced basophil changes, providing further insight into the mechanism of action of this compound in bronchial asthma.