Increased level of basophil CD203c expression predicts severe chronic urticaria.

Abstract

Increased FcepsilonR1alpha expression with upregulated CD203c expression on

peripheral basophils is seen in patients with chronic urticaria (CU). However,

there has been no published report on the association between CD203c expression

level and clinical disease activity in CU patients. To investigate whether the

increase of basophil activation is associated with the disease activity of CU, we

measured basophil CD203c expression using a tricolor flow cytometric method in 82

CU patients and 21 normal controls. The relationship between the percentage of

CD203c-expressing basophils and clinical parameters was analyzed. The mean

basophil CD203c expression was significantly higher in CU patients than in

healthy controls (57.5% vs 11.6%, P < 0.001). The basophil CD203c expression in

severe CU patients was significantly higher than in non-severe CU (66.5% +/-

23.3% vs 54.0% +/- 23.3%, P = 0.033). Multiple logistic regression analysis

indicated that both >/= 72% basophil CD203c expression and urticaria activity

score (UAS)>/= 13 were significant predictors of severe CU (P = 0.005 and P =

0.032, respectively). These findings suggest that the quantification of basophil

activation with CD203c at baseline may be used as a potential predictor of severe

CU requiring another treatment option beyond antihistamines.