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Immunoglobulin E: Pathogenic Relevance in Immediate Contact Reactions

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Contact Urticaria Syndrome

Part of the book series: Updates in Clinical Dermatology ((UCD))

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Abstract

Contact urticaria syndrome, contact urticaria, and protein contact dermatitis are a heterogeneous group of immediate skin reactions clinically characterized by the presence of wheals, or eczema, or both, commonly limited to the exposed skin. Two pathogenic pathways have been described, which include a nonimmune-mediated mechanism and an immune-mediated mechanism. In the nonimmune-mediated mechanism, the agent directly causes skin reaction through vasogenic mediators, and therefore prior sensitization is not required to develop a skin reaction. Conversely, the immune-mediated mechanism consists of an IgE-mediated type I hypersensitivity reaction. This type of hypersensitivity requires an initial exposure to the antigen to induce a sensitization, causing the production of antigen-specific IgE that will induce mast cell degranulation after future exposures with the same antigen. Additionally, studies in vitro, as well as in vivo, have demonstrated supplementary roles of IgE beyond the immediate immune response subjected to the presence of a specific antigen. These antigen-independent roles of IgE have been shown to provide and prepare the perfect environment to induce the allergic response from the sensitization phase to amplification and perpetuation of this immune response. Herein, the roles of IgE in the immediate contact response, as well as those favoring its development, are reviewed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA

    Maria Estela Martinez-Escala

  2. Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, USA

    Leah Ariella Kaplan

  3. Department of Dermatology, Hospital del Mar - Institut Mar d’Investigacions Mediques, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain

    Ana M. Giménez-Arnau

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  1. Maria Estela Martinez-Escala
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  3. Ana M. Giménez-Arnau
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Correspondence to Maria Estela Martinez-Escala .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Hospital del Mar - Institut Mar d’Investigacions Mediques, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Department of Dermatology, Barcelona, Spain

    Ana M. Giménez-Arnau

  2. Department of Dermatology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA

    Howard I. Maibach

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Martinez-Escala, M.E., Kaplan, L.A., Giménez-Arnau, A.M. (2018). Immunoglobulin E: Pathogenic Relevance in Immediate Contact Reactions. In: Giménez-Arnau, A., Maibach, H. (eds) Contact Urticaria Syndrome. Updates in Clinical Dermatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89764-6_9

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