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Blood, 1 February 2007, Vol. 109, No. 3, pp. 859-861. Prepublished online as a Blood First Edition Paper on September 26, 2006; DOI 10.1182/blood-2006-06-027490.
PERSPECTIVES When is a mouse basophil not a basophil?1 Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ; 2 Animal Care and Technologies, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ The identification and characterization of mouse basophils have historically been hampered by the extreme rarity of this cell type. Virtually no photomicrographs of hematologically stained (eg, Wright-Giemsa) examples of mouse basophils exist in the literature. However, 4 recent studies in the past 2 years have used flow cytometry and a defined set of cell-surface markers to identify and subsequently isolate mouse "basophils," including the publication of stained cytospin preparations of these cells. Surprisingly, a reevaluation of the data from all 4 of the studies revealed several issues of concern that suggest that the cells under study are not necessarily basophils. Nonetheless, we propose that these studies do provide the foundation for a reevaluation of the defining characteristics of a basophil and/or provide support for the provocative conclusion that a new previously overlooked leukocyte subtype has been identified. The purpose of this commentary is to revisit these previously published studies, highlight the relevant issues, and provide a different perspective in the hope of developing a consensus within the research community as to the true identity of the "basophils" described in these studies.
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