Measuring allergen-specific IgE: where have we been and where are we going?

About 40 yr ago, two groups of investigators identified a new class of immunoglobulins, IgE. By exchanging their results and reagents, they proved that the immunoglobulin responsible for immediate hypersensitivity was IgE. From that day forward the science of allergy was greatly advanced. Within a few years of the IgE discovery, an assay for IgE was developed. This test was named the radio allergosorbent test. The specific IgE testing methodology has matured in the last four decades. Different means of detecting IgE bound to allergen is the subject of this review. We have included methods for measuring specific IgE using the ImmunoCAP 1000 instrument. The methodology for measuring basophile histamine release is also detailed in this chapter.