Interval shifts in basophil measures correlate with disease activity in chronic spontaneous urticaria

Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) significantly impacts the quality of life of those affected through symptoms of pruritus and recurrent skin lesions. In active CSU disease, reduced IgE-mediated basophil histamine release (HR) and basopenia are observed. We sought to examine the relationship between interval changes in basophil measures and shifts in patient-reported disease impairment. Simultaneous symptom and basophil evaluations were completed at two sequential study visits, and interval changes in measures were compared between visits for each subject (n = 38). These measures included Skindex-29, current itch and hives scores, total leukocyte histamine content (an indirect measure of blood basophil presence), and basophil HR in response to anti-IgE and formyl-methionine-leucine-phenylalanine. Overall, interval improvements in disease measures in CSU subjects were associated with increased basophil numbers (total leukocyte histamine content) and IgE-mediated HR. This suggests these measures are potential biomarkers for CSU disease improvement and further implicates a role for basophils in CSU.