Library · Molecule
Immunoglobulin E
Make it clearer
Immunoglobulin E, or IgE, is one of the classes of antibody, the body's defense proteins. It has an oddity: it hardly travels loose in the blood. It lives stuck to certain cells in the tissues: mast cells and basophils.
Think of an alarm already bolted to the wall. It is not tucked away in a drawer: it is mounted and waiting. When an antigen, meaning a particle the body recognizes as foreign, sticks to that IgE, the cell releases histamine instantly, and it also starts making prostaglandins and leukotrienes.
That release is what you can feel: sneezing, hives, which are welts on the skin, and bronchospasm, the closing of the bronchial tubes that makes it hard to breathe. At its most severe it is called anaphylaxis.
And IgE does not exist only for that. It also takes part in the body's response to parasitic infections.
In brief
Immunoglobulin E, or IgE, barely circulates in the plasma: it sits anchored to mast cells and basophils in the tissues.
An alarm already mounted on the wall, waiting for someone to touch it.
When an antigen binds the anchored IgE, the cell releases histamine right away and makes prostaglandins and leukotrienes.
That release can cause sneezing, hives, and bronchospasm, and at the extreme, anaphylaxis.
IgE also takes part in the response to parasitic infections.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingImmunoglobulin E, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated