Basophils: Are they only shadow dancers in allergy or more…?

Although basophils are one of the rarest types of leukocyte they are remarkably endowed with an abundance of receptors and mediators relevant to allergic disease. Some of these are shared with their tissue-fixed counterparts, the mast cells, including expression of high affinity IgE receptors (FcεRI), the release of histamine and leukotriene-C4 following allergen provocatio