Immunofluorescence studies on renal tissue, tonsils, adenoids, nasal polyps, and skin of atopic and nonatopic patients, with special reference to IgE

Immunofluorescence studies were performed on tissues from atopic and nonatopic patients. When these tissues were tested with a fluorescein-labeled sheep anti-human-IgE serum the cytoplasm of plasma cells and the outer zone of mast cells showed fluorescence. In a series of 196 patients a correlation was found between the clinical diagnosis and atopic disease and bright mast cell membrane IgE fluorescence. The intensity of the mast cell IgE fluorescence did not appear to correlate with the IgE level in the serum. Intraepithelial mast cells were incidentally observed in tonsils, adenoids, and nasal polyps. IgE was not found in glomeruli or vessels in renal tissue from 192 patients, among whom were patients with malignant nephrosclerosis and the nephrotic syndrome with minimal lesions.