Omalizumab is an anti-IgE humanized monoclonal antibody approved for the treatment of severe asthma and chronic spontaneous urticaria. Omalizumab binds free serum IgE and antagonizes its interaction with FcεRI, which is considered the main pharmacodynamic mechanism responsible for the clinical response to the treatment. The reduction of IgE serum concentration down-regulates the cellular expression of FcεRI on basophils. However, the biological events occurring on basophils during the therapy with omalizumab are multiple and complex. Here we review the current evidence regarding the specific biological effects of omalizumab on basophils in patients with asthma and chronic spontaneous urticaria. In addition to the modulation of IgE receptors, omalizumab may affect basophils homeostasis, intra-cellular signaling, cellular responsiveness/activation and cytokine release. These effects may be partially responsible for the clinical success of omalizumab and potentially provide useful biological markers for future assessment of the clinical response to the treatment. However, further investigation is required to better elucidate the role of basophils during the treatment with omalizumab.

Omalizumab是一种抗IgE人源化单克隆抗体，已被批准用于治疗严重哮喘和慢性自发性荨麻疹。Omalizumab结合游离血清IgE并拮抗其与FcεRI的相互作用，这被认为是对治疗产生临床反应的主要药效学机制。IgE血清浓度的降低下调了嗜碱性粒细胞上FcεRI的细胞表达。然而，在用奥马珠单抗治疗期间嗜碱性粒细胞发生的生物学事件是多重且复杂的。在这里，我们回顾了有关奥马珠单抗对哮喘和慢性自发性荨麻疹患者嗜碱性粒细胞的特定生物学效应的最新证据。除了调节IgE受体外，奥马珠单抗还可能影响嗜碱性粒细胞的稳态，细胞内信号传导，细胞反应性/激活和细胞因子释放。这些作用可能部分归因于奥马珠单抗的临床成功，并可能为将来对治疗的临床反应评估提供有用的生物学标记。但是，需要进一步研究以更好地阐明嗜碱性粒细胞在奥马珠单抗治疗期间的作用。