Anti‐IgE induces the opening of non selective cation channels on human basophils

Basophils play a major role in allergic reactions-particularly in late phase reactions-by releasing histamine and other mediators of inflammation. Although transmembrane ion fluxes are thought to play an important role in the modulation of histamine release, little is know, about ion pathways through the basophil membrane. We thus studied human basophils from normal subjects (n=25 cells) with the patch-clamp method. We observed that IgE-dependent activation of human basophils led to the opening of non selective cation channels with a 20pS conductance